Trouble Is
by DTS Guru
Summary: She arrived in Forks to find everything out of place.  Edward wasn't even interested in Bella.  And where was Jasper? AU Non-Canon pairings. Very Random plot bunny.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Don't own Twilight…I do own this incredibly random plot bunny. This came to me while I was holding my head and watching the pretty pin-pricks of light flashing in my eyes. It's a migraine day. Yay! *please note the very heavy**** sarcasm.**

* * *

This was the absolute worst time and place for a migraine to hit. Pin-pricks of light obscured the road before me. A flash erupted, wiping out the left side of my vision for a few seconds before disappearing to reveal a car heading in my direction. I panicked for a moment before I realized that the other car was in its lane and I was still safely in mine. My hand darted out to turn down the radio, twisting the knob with shaking fingers. The throbbing bass of the music was painful as it assaulted my ears.

As soon as the noise from the radio was gone, the road noise became too much to bear. I clenched my teeth against the onslaught of painful sound waves. There was nothing I could do. I either had to stop the car on the side of the road or try to reach my destination faster. My eyes darted to my purse. My migraine pills were in there. Two of the red ones would wipe out the pain within five minutes, but I had enough common sense to know that driving under the influence of narcotics wasn't the smartest idea ever. But I had Excedrin Migraine in there, too. I didn't like to dry swallow pills, but this was an emergency situation. I grabbed my purse and pulled it into my lap. Another flash of light flooded my vision as I glanced back toward the road. _Shit, I have to get off the road. This one is too intense to drive through._

The blare of a horn startled me, making me jerk the wheel. As my vision began to clear from the flash of light, I saw that I had started to drift into oncoming traffic. The jerk of the wheel had only taken me further into the wrong lane. Panicking, I pulled the wheel hard to the right, careening out of oncoming traffic, across the correct lane, and all the way off the road. I slammed my foot on the brake as the car bumped along the uneven ditch, jarring my brain. My head was surely going to explode any second.

The wheels skidded along the damp grass, the back end fishtailing, skyrocketing my heart rate. I steered into the skid, as anybody raised on dirt and gravel roads would. The car corrected but it still wasn't stopping. Why the hell wasn't my car stopping? Right, because I had needed new brakes for a couple months now but hadn't had the money. Shit. I was about to die because of a damn migraine. _Well at least my head won't hurt anymore._

And that was my last thought before I slammed into a tree and everything went black.

_

* * *

I'm alive?_ I sat up slowly, honestly surprised that I had lived through that. _Damn, my head still hurts._

I lay back down. I must have hit the tree so hard I was thrown from the car. But I had been wearing a seatbelt. I closed my eyes. My whole body hurt now. But what did I expect? I'd just wrecked my car. How the hell was I going to pay to fix the stupid car? How the hell was I going to afford to tow it back to the city? I was in the middle of nowhere.

I didn't have medical insurance. The ambulance alone was going to wipe out my bank account. I couldn't afford to go to the hospital to be checked out. I watched the lights flashing behind my eyes and counted my heart rate as it throbbed through my head. Nausea rolled through me. It was about damn time. I would start to feel better once I finally threw up. Groaning, I rolled myself over. There weren't enough words for how much that hurt, but I sure as hell didn't want to survive the wreck just to suffocate on my own vomit.

Voices filtered into my awareness just as my stomach clenched. This wasn't exactly the first impression I wanted to make on my rescuers. But I had no control over my body as I began to heave. I lost my breakfast and continued to heave for a full minute. Someone came up behind me and lifted me up, so at least I wouldn't be lying in my own mess. The person had ice cold hands, which actually felt really nice against my skin. It seemed to help as they ran their cold hands along my neck and forehead.

When I finally stopped heaving the person pulled me back against his chest and spoke. "Are you okay? How did you get out here by yourself?"

I frowned. Was this guy stupid? "Car wreck."

I looked around for my car, to point it out to the oblivious idiot, but I couldn't see it anywhere. What the hell? Confusion filled me. I turned my head to look behind me, but my car was nowhere to be seen. Where was the person my rescuer had been talking to when he walked up? More importantly, where the hell was my car? What was going on? Had I gotten out and walked around after the wreck? That must have been it. I had been in shock and walked away from the wreck. That was the only explanation that made sense.

But that didn't explain why I didn't recognize where I was. I had been on the way from home to my college, driving along a state highway that I drove every day. I knew every inch of that road and every turn-off. I'd grown up in that area. But I had never seen this road. I had never seen these trees. I had never seen anything like these trees. This scene was completely foreign.

_How hard did I hit my head?_

"I think maybe I should take you to my father. He's a doctor."

I finally turned to view the Good Samaritan who had stopped to help a stranger on the side of the road. My breath caught in my throat when I saw him. He was beautiful, no that wasn't strong enough of a word; he was ethereal. His eyes were an unnatural topaz color. His hair was bronze and wild. His skin was pale. Only now did it dawn on me just how icy cold and _hard_ his skin had been.

Holy shit, I was hallucinating now. And it couldn't even be good hallucinations. No, it had to be my least favorite character from a series of books and movies I didn't even _like._

* * *

This was a _really_ elaborate hallucination. The house was huge, and pristine. _I wonder how much time they spend cleaning every day?_ My eyes darted around the small room once again. I was feeling a little hysterical. This was _the_ study. The painting of Carlisle and the Volturi was right there on the wall. I didn't even like this stupid story. Why was my mind fabricating all of these details? Sure, if I was one of those so-called 'Twi-hards' I would understand why my mind would try to find comfort in imagining I was suddenly thrown into their world. But I had grown so fed up with the main character's dysfunctional relationships with everyone around her that I hadn't even finished the last book.

I jumped as the door opened, revealing Edward and another man. This one was just as gorgeous, if slightly older. He sent me a smile that was probably supposed to comfort me. How the hell was I supposed to calm down when I was in the room with two vampires? Sure, they fed off of animals, but who knew when one of them would fall off the wagon, so to speak? Goodness knew Jasper had enough trouble. And look at all the trouble Edward had resisting Bella.

_Give the guy a break, she is his singer after all. Of course he wants to drain her dry._

Edward frowned, shooting a glance Carlisle's way. His lips blurred the slightest bit, but that was probably just my migraine playing tricks with my eyesight. The migraines messed with my senses. Every sound seemed to be ten times louder than it should. Someone downstairs, probably Emmett, was playing Call of Duty and the gunfire was driving me crazy. There was a clock on the wall behind me ticking away. If I didn't either get out of this house or take a couple Midrin soon I was going to rip that clock right off the wall and do a little flamenco dance on it.

Where would I go though? I had no idea how to get out of this hallucination. Hopefully in reality I was lying comfortably in a hospital bed, possibly in a coma. There was always the possibility that I was still on the side of the road. Maybe bleeding out. This could be my last moments. Yet again though, why the hell would my mind choose _this_ over the traditional life flashing before my eyes bit?

Focus. If I escaped the house, where would I go? _Wouldn't anywhere be better than a house full of supernatural creatures who might eat you for a midnight snack?_

Valid point.

"I'm Dr Carlisle Cullen. My son Edward tells me you believe you were in a wreck?"

I frowned. "I _know_ I was in a wreck. I hit a damn tree. I'd call that a wreck. Wouldn't you?"

He sent me a small smile, again trying to calm me down with the non-verbal signals. Like I was going to buy that shit from a figment of my imagination.

"But there were no wrecked cars for miles around…" He trailed off with a questioning tone.

"Well I don't know where my car went. But I know I was driving. I grabbed my purse to take something for this migraine. When I looked up I was in the wrong lane. I over-corrected, slammed into a tree, and woke up in Wonderland."

Carlisle frowned. "Wonderland?"

"Well this sure as Hell isn't Missouri, is it?" I replied in the most reasonable tone I could manage.

"You're in Forks, Washington," Edward stated quietly.

I snorted. Sure I was. By now I had to be in the hospital. Someone had to have found my unconscious form. The doctors would be taking good care of me and hopefully I would wake up from this craziness soon. I'd figure out a way to pay for it later.

Edward had a truly concerned look on his face now. His lips did that weird blurry thing again. Oh hell no. That wasn't my migraine playing tricks on me. He was talking about me, right in front of me.

"That's really rude, you know. Talking where I can't understand what you're saying. If you're going to talk about me at least have the common decency to leave the room first."

He raised his eyebrows and shared a look with Carlisle.

Carlisle scrutinized me for a long moment before seeming to make up his mind about something. "You seem to know quite a lot about us."

I raised an eyebrow, regretting it as pain shot through my head with the slight movement. _I really wish they would just shut up already and let me take my medicine._

"We don't even know your name," Edward pointed out.

"Tommy," I replied.

They stared at me, dumbstruck. I was used to that reaction though.

"Your name is Tommy?" Edward asked.

I shrugged. "Thomas if you want to be a dick about it. But most people call me Tommy."

Carlisle's eyes darted down my body and back up. Again, I was used to this reaction. He had to check to make sure he remembered correctly. "But you're a girl."

"Dad was so sure I would be a boy." There was more to the story, but why go into the boring family details?

Edward stepped closer. The movement wafted a sweet scent to me. My stomach rebelled. If I hadn't already lost everything on the side of the road, I would be covering Carlisle's expensive looking rug.

"Tell me how you know what we are, Tommy."

Fear seized me. Jasper came immediately to mind. How was my reaction affecting him? This creature before me could snap me in half. Even if he didn't eat me for lunch, he couldn't allow me to live. I knew too much. As he was so fond of telling Bella, it was too dangerous for humans to know about his kind. At least he would probably be more kind about it than the Volturi. He would probably just kill me quickly and bury the body. The Volturi really would eat me. I shuddered at the thought.

He turned to Carlisle. "She knows exactly what we are, what we eat, and about the Volturi."

How the hell…right, mind reading vampire. Edward turned back to me quickly. "How did you know about that? Who told you?"

"What?" Carlisle stepped forward to stand next to his adopted son.

"She knows about my ability," Edward spoke quietly.

The sound of the game downstairs abruptly shut off. There was a sudden absence of all sound in the house. Shit. I was toast.

**

* * *

AN: I know, I know. I'm supposed to be working on Everything About You, not this shit. But this kept grabbing me and shaking me every time I tried. This little plot bunny looked all sweet and innocent until I tried to ignore it. Then it turned into that vicious little killer bunny from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.**

**Anyway, I actually know how this one is supposed to end, but I have no clue how to get there. So I don't know when I'll update this one next. Don't hold your breath ya'll.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Twilight…I do own this incredibly random plot bunny. Well, actually, it seems to own me right now.**

* * *

"Tommy, this is very important," Carlisle told me, stepping closer to me. I stared at him, vaguely aware that figures were crowding into the doorway. "We need to know how you found out about our kind, and specifically about Edward's gift."

I swallowed thickly. _This would be a fantastic time to wake up. One, two, three: Snap out of it._

Edward shook his head, pinching his nose. "She still thinks she's hallucinating."

I took the time to examine the entire family as they peered in at me. Huh. That was odd. I'd seen the first two movies. Now that I thought about it, none of these people, for lack of a better word, looked like the actors hired to play the characters from the books. Had my traumatized brain decided that it could do a better job than the casting director for the movies? _Can you argue with the results?_ Not really, no. Sure, the actors from the movies were lovely and all, but these six were gorgeous. Wait, someone was missing. There was the Goliath and his supermodel wife. The midget psychic peered out from around a motherly looking figure.

"Tommy, I can assure you that this is very real." Carlisle interrupted my thoughts with his soothing voice and attempted to comfort me by patting my leg. The cold seeped through my jeans and into my skin.

I snorted. "Right, I'll just take the word of the supernatural being straight out of a fantasy and believe that I'm not living in a hallucination."

Edward was looking at me funny now. I frowned at him. "What?"

"It's nothing." He said with a shake of the head.

But he was still looking at me with a confused expression. My head hurt far too much to put up with these games. I looked around for my purse. I thought I had felt it beside me on the ground when I woke up. Edward pointed behind me and slightly to the left. That was just creepy. Good thing he couldn't read Bella's mind. I could imagine how annoying it would be to know the guy next to you could hear every thought going through your mind.

"What is so important about this Bella person?" Edward asked, an exasperated tone to his voice.

I pulled my purse onto my lap slowly, eyeing him cautiously. Did he not know Bella? Maybe she hadn't moved to Forks yet.

"Bella Swan," I said, hoping her name alone would be enough for him to recognize.

He turned to peer at Alice. The small vampire shrugged her shoulders.

He turned back with a frown. "The Police Chief's daughter? Why is she so important?"

"So she has moved here?"

He nodded. "Of course. She was my partner in Biology last year."

Wait, what? Last year? What the hell was going on here? And where was Jasper? I couldn't deal with this. I turned my attention to my purse and started digging through, looking for my migraine pills. Since I obviously wouldn't be driving anywhere, I could take my Midrin. Okay, so I didn't know how effective they would be in my dream, coma, whatever this was, but hell, maybe they would be more effective. Or maybe I could just will the pain away. But somehow I doubted I had the will power for that. If I did, I wouldn't be having a very confusing conversation with the bloodsuckers, would I?

Carlisle's hand came to rest over mine just as I tried to twist open the prescription bottle. I glanced up to see that the room had cleared. "I really do need to examine you before you take anything."

"Fine," I growled. Was I really about to let a figment of my imagination give me a medical examination? Yes, yes I was. Because right now the son of a bitch had the upper hand and I really wanted those damn pills.

* * *

I opened my mouth, smacking a couple times. Ugh. Dry mouth. Rolling over, I reached for the glass of water I always kept on my nightstand for the morning after a migraine. Or that was the plan anyway. What actually happened was a graceless face-plant as I rolled off a foreign bed.

"Shit."

_Hey Jackass, perhaps you should open your eyes now._

I cracked my eyelids to take in my surroundings. I was in a dark room. The red letters on the alarm clock facing me declared that it was two thirty-four. Judging by the lack of any light streaming in the windows, I was guessing that it was the middle of the night. _Careful there, you're gonna make Sherlock jealous with those __**amazing**__ deduction skills._ I told my inner bitch to shut up. I had an excuse. I was groggy from the migraine pills. That and sleeping for way too long. Carlisle had given me a clean bill of health and allowed me pop my pills around noon. So I had slept for fourteen hours.

There was no way I was going back to sleep now. I would have to find something else to occupy my time. I looked around, searching for anything entertaining. My lip curled up as I surveyed the room. The room decorations were tasteful, if a touch boring. All tans and muted greens. Earth colors. My eyes appreciated the lack of stimulation but seriously, it looked like Martha Stewart had exploded in here. This much tan and green was _not_ a good thing.

"Are you okay?" A soft voice asked from the doorway.

I jumped a little at the unexpected intrusion. Turning my head, I saw Alice watching me from the doorway. Only then did I realize that I was still on my hands and knees on the floor. I had to be the strangest human this family had met in a very long time, if ever. I stood quickly, wiping nonexistent dust from my knees.

"Just fine. Why do you ask?"

"I heard you fall out of bed," she replied with a raised eyebrow.

I sent her a sheepish grin, embarrassment getting the best of me for once. "Yeah well, new bed, migraine drugs still in my system…I was just going to get something to drink."

"Let me show you to the kitchen."

I snorted. "Do you even know where it is? It's not like you use it."

She smiled, seemingly unfazed by the bitchy comment, and beckoned for me to follow.

_Why do you insist on interacting with them like they are really there?_

I considered the thought as I followed Alice down the stairs. Could I really just ignore them? Pretend I didn't see them? The concept made me feel slightly guilty. _But they aren't even real people_, I argued with myself. Still, if I could see them and hear them, something in me insisted that I could not in good conscious ignore them.

As soon as we entered the kitchen, the short creature leading our little parade of two spun around in a move more graceful than any ballet dancer I'd ever seen. Her smile sparkled. "The glasses are in that cabinet and I've been told that the water is good."

"Thank you," I muttered quietly, still arguing internally with myself. But how could I ignore someone being as nice as she was?

_Isn't this the one you referred to as That Psychic Bitch when you read the books?_ I avoided her gaze as I moved around her toward the cabinet she had pointed out. Sure, I hated her character in the books. But it was a lot easier to hate a girl when she was a one-dimensional character in a book. It was apparently a damn sight harder when she was smiling at you in her kitchen.

I filled the glass quickly. Instead of staying in the kitchen, I wandered away through the door to explore the house. Sipping the water I walked through the useless dining area and into the living room. Emmett and Rosalie were nowhere to be seen and neither were Carlisle and Esme. But Edward was sitting in a large tan chair reading a book. I could feel Alice following me as I made my way to the large white couch. What the hell was with all the neutral colors? How about a dash of bright blue for a change? Maybe some red? _It would certainly hide the stains better._

Edward raised his head and sent me a look, both eyebrows raised. I returned the look. _Well? It would._

He shook his head, returning his attention to his book.

Alice bounced onto the cushion next to me. How exactly does a creature as hard as a rock make her body bounce on the couch like a vapid cheerleader? She was looking me up and down, a look of disgust on her face. I sighed. Shit. She was going to comment on my clothes now. Then she would try to get me to go shopping.

"Where did you find those jeans? Did you mug a homeless person?"

I smiled, anticipating her reaction. "Wal-Mart."

Her mouth fell open. Holy shit. I had shocked the psychic. Where was my cookie? I definitely deserved a cookie for that one. I had to push my luck with this. "I got this shirt at a garage sale."

I think if she had been capable of feinting, she would have. She was in some kind of vampire state of shock. This was great.

I turned my attention to the mind reader. "So, Eddie."

He raised his eyes slowly. "Yes?"

"What's up with Bella Swan?"

Confusion flashed across his face and once again he turned to his sister. But Alice was still staring at me, a look of utter disbelief plastered across her face. He sighed loudly before returning his strangely colored gaze to mine.

"Why are you so concerned with Bella? She's just an average human. There is nothing special about her, aside from the fact that she is obsessed with a werewolf." He sounded like he was bored of talking about her before he even began.

But, that couldn't be right! Bella was supposed to be Edward's mate. She wasn't supposed to be with Jake. Everything was screwed up. Maybe this was how I could get out of this hallucination. Maybe my mind set up an elaborate puzzle for me to solve, to keep me occupied while I recovered. Wouldn't want to be bored in my coma, now would I? And the only way to wake up was the fix it all back to the way it was supposed to be. Dammit, did that mean I had to make Bella hook up with this prick? I really didn't like the way he was going to treat to her.

"What do you mean Bella is supposed to be my mate?" Edward exploded from his chair, showing the first real emotion since I'd woken in this bizarro world. "Isabella Swan is most definitely _not_ my mate. I can't stand that girl. She's selfish and heaven help the boy she's interested in. She'll obsess over every word he says and every move he makes until she finally drives him away. Besides, the girl can't ever make up her mind _who_ she likes. She's always got one in the wings so she won't be alone when she's finished with her current victim. That is not my idea of a good partner for eternity."

Alice's cold hand settled on my arm. "Excuse me, but I have to butt in. I can't let this go on any further. This is far too important."

I braced myself for whatever vision she had just received, for her to reveal a truth that would explain everything.

She turned serious eyes to me, concern written across her face. "You are shaming all of humanity with that outfit. Wal-Mart? Garage Sales? Have some pride! I think you're close enough to Rosalie's size that you can borrow an outfit for now, but first thing in the morning, you just _have_ to come shopping with me."

**

* * *

AN: This plot bunny is one persistent, _jealous_ little bastard. I got half a chapter of Everything About You drafted and he attacked me. I couldn't work on anything else but this. Hopefully this will hold him off for awhile.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Don't own it. I just swiped what I wanted from S.M.'s toy box and ran like hell.**

* * *

"No."

Alice pouted. "This is a necessity."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not really the shopping type. Why don't you take Bella? You two are supposed to be best friends by now."

That stopped her in her tracks. She leaned back out of my personal bubble. _Thank you. _ If she'd gotten any closer she would have been in my lap.

"What do you mean by that?"

I shrugged. "Just that you and Bella were supposed to be friends. If Edward had dated her like he was supposed to."

They were both looking at me with strange expressions. Alice had a look of extreme concentration. Edward just looked constipated. I doubted he suffered from that particular ailment though. Did vampires use the bathroom? I'd never really stopped to consider the thought before. They did ingest liquid. The liquid had to go _somewhere_. They didn't sweat, so it wasn't like their body evaporated it off. There had to be some kind of waste product left after their bodies stripped the blood of all the nutrients. Right? So what happened to the waste?

"Are you quite finished?" Edward asked, a slightly disgusted tone to his voice.

I shrugged. If he didn't like my thoughts, he could always stop listening. After all, if I'd wanted him to hear them, I would have said them out loud. Asshole.

"Are you implying that you have some kind of psychic gift? Despite the fact that you are a human?" Edward's words dripped with scorn.

Oh how I would love to be able to hurt him. But punching him would only break my hand, and possibly piss off the creature capable of snapping me in half. I was a big girl. I had my big girl panties on and everything. I could take a few ugly words from a sparkly teenager.

I opened my mouth to tell them the truth, then slammed it shut. How the hell was I supposed to tell them the truth without sounding like a nut-job? I didn't even believe it myself and I lived through it. The only reason I wasn't hyperventilating was because I had decided that this was all a very elaborate dream I had to work through in order to wake up.

Alice turned to her brother with a scowl. "What is so preposterous about that? Perhaps I had visions before I was changed."

Perhaps she had. Maybe that was why she had been locked in that loony-bin when she was turned. Maybe Alice had visions even as a human and her family couldn't handle that reality. It would be hard enough to accept in this culture, much less back when she was 'alive'. Of course her family would have locked her up. They probably told all the neighbors that she died of the flu or something, because they were too ashamed to admit they had a crazy daughter.

"You already know humans are capable of having visions," Rosalie stated as she descended the stairs, a bored tone to her voice. "Of course, they seem to always be a little off. So why are you so surprised that this human's vision of the future is so…unsavory?"

She walked into the room, settling on the far end of the couch. Her eyes flicked up and down my body. The expression on her face was full of judgement as she turned back to her brother. "Did you learn nothing from your little experimental phase? Humans are not meant to live in this world. We need to get rid of this thing."

"By all means, Rosalie, make no attempt to spare my feelings. How do you really feel about me?"

She sent me a look. "Don't take it so personally. I'd react this way to any human he brought into our family. This is dangerous, for you and for us. Edward is making a mistake by keeping you here."

Edward shrugged, turning back to his book once again. "Carlisle made the call to keep her for observation."

"After _you_ brought her here. If you hadn't picked her up off the side of that road, she wouldn't know about us at all. Did you learn nothing from Stephenie?"

My ears picked up. Stephenie? Stephenie who? Who was she and what happened? Since Edward had never been interested in Bella in this strange alternate reality I seemed to be in, then who had he 'experimented' with? Was it Stephenie? And was it a coincidence that her name was Stephenie? I was willing to bet every last dollar in my purse that her last name started with an M. This little delusion I had cooked up to keep myself occupied was sure doing the trick.

Edward lowered his book. "For the last time, this is not a hallucination! Everything that is happening to you is real."

I could not accept that. It just wasn't possible. There was no way for me to go from my wrecked car in Missouri to the side of the road in Washington without some type of explanation. _And let's not forget the fact that you're sitting here with the characters from your least favorite best-seller._ If a character was going to leap off the pages of a book, why couldn't it be someone hot, like Ranger from the Stephanie Plum books? I'd like to get a little piece of that guy. But no, I get stuck with the ones who might accidentally take a little nibble from me if they fell off the wagon.

"A book? You know about us from a book?"

Dammit! My eyes widened as three pairs of eyes zeroed in on me.

"Where did you find this book? Who wrote it?"

I rolled my eyes at Edward's question. Where couldn't you find the book, now days? The stupid things were everywhere. The whole world was losing their shit for the stupid saga. I really didn't see the appeal. Especially now that I had met the real McCoy. What had possessed Stephenie to even write the stupid stories after meeting these creatures? Assuming their Stephenie was the same Stephenie.

Edward's eyes widened. "That bitch."

Rosalie and Alice both hissed, turning to look at me with narrowed eyes. I threw my hands up. "Not me!"

"Stephenie wrote a book about us. About all of us Cullens."

I grimaced, holding up four fingers. "Four books."

Edward growled. "I'm going to hunt her down and kill her."

Shock rolled through me. Edward had never seemed this violent in the books. In fact, he'd been a bit of a pansy in the books. His head whipped around at my thought. I found myself the focus of his narrowed eyes.

"Hey, don't give me the death glare. I didn't write the damn books."

**

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AN: Uhm...not sure if I should have posted or not. I'm feeling kinda bleh about this one. But it's been too long for me since I've written anything, so it had to be done. I apologize for the sub-par work. :^) **


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Don't own the rights to any published story. Did just buy a bunch of music, cause I'll buy anything Maynard Keenan sings or writes.**

* * *

It was rather fascinating to watch a family of vampires in the midst of a temper tantrum. Dangerous as hell. But fascinating none the less. I stayed back, well out of the way. I wasn't stupid. There was a nice little corner with my name on it. And I tucked myself back in that corner while they raged through the remainder of the night.

Boy was Edward pissed. And before long so were his brother and sisters. It didn't take them very long to pull those books up on the computer and skim through them. I wasn't sure if they just didn't like the way that Stephenie portrayed them, or the fact that she wrote about them at all. But once Emmett was finished venting about it, Esme was going to need to redecorate, with the help of an architect and a small construction crew.

Carlisle and Esme did try to stop their children, near the beginning. It didn't take them very long to realize that their efforts were in vain. So instead, they chose to post themselves as sentries in front of my safe little corner. They became my own personal bodyguards. _Ain't I a lucky little bitch?_

Eventually though, things began to calm down. Probably because there was no more furniture to destroy and if they took out any more walls the top floors would come crashing down, burying us all. Of course, I was the only one that had anything to worry about if that lovely little scenario actually occurred. But I was sure that would be a hassle the others didn't really want to deal with either.

"It's all bullshit," Emmett declared. "She was just pissed because you broke her heart."

Well _that_ was an interesting little nugget. And Emmett didn't sound entirely convinced of the truth of his own words.

"She knew too much," Rosalie pointed out with a glare toward her brother.

Edward returned the fierce look. "I certainly never revealed that much to her."

"She had to learn it all somewhere."

He sneered at her. "You said yourself that her visions could be real. Maybe she saw it all."

Alice looked between her siblings doubtfully. "But then we have to consider that everything in the books is how things should have played out. Bella should be part of this family."

No one appeared particularly thrilled with that idea. I couldn't really blame them though. I wouldn't want the whiny bitch to be part of my family either.

Sick of being stuck in the corner, I stood up, brushing stray bits of couch stuffing off my pants. Moving around the parental figures, I surveyed the room with a critical eye. Damn, these four could put any rock band to shame. I'd love to see what kind of damage they could do to a hotel room.

Turning back to them, I asked something that I'd been wondering since they first lost their shit. "So, how much did Stephenie lie about your family? Or was she pretty accurate?"

Edward scoffed. "She was completely inaccurate. Those books are poorly written drivel, clearly marketed toward a preteen audience with the sole intention of sucking their disposable income dry. Frankly I'm disappointed that someone your age has read them."

I crossed my arms, feeling vaguely defensive. "I was curious. It's not like I enjoyed them. I didn't even finish."

"She couldn't even get the family members right. She added in a character who doesn't exist."

I glanced toward Alice. She had that desperate, pinched look about her, like she was trying to concentrate again. _Don't hurt yourself there, Miss Cleo._

"Maybe Jasper does exist and you just haven't met him," I suggested.

Edward turned toward Alice. She met his eyes with a frustrated expression. "I can't get a reading on him, since I've never met him."

"Did she mention anyone else in the books that you hadn't introduced her too?"

The four of them grew uncomfortable, tossing significant glances back and forth. When it became apparent that none of them were going to volunteer the information, I snapped my fingers to gain their attention. "Well? Did she?"

Edward frowned. "We had a conversation about the Denali's, so it's not a surprise that she would mention them. But, I don't recall ever speaking to her about Garret, Maggie, or any of the others who came to our defense in the last book."

I hadn't read far enough into that book to know what he was talking about. "But are they real?"

His expression was conflicted, which told me everything I needed to know. He wouldn't have a problem telling me if they weren't real. That would have been an easy answer.

"So, she either has other contacts in your world, or she truly does have visions."

"You don't understand," Rosalie hissed, her face twisted with a combination of rage and agony. "It doesn't really matter _how_ she knows all of this. She has condemned us all. The Volturi must be planning their attack even now. They can't allow her to continue with this knowledge. And they will certainly hold us responsible. They can't let us survive this."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Disclaimer: Unless you're mentally challenged, you should be able to figure out your own damn self that I don't own any of the Twilight shit. Except a copy of the books, which were way over-priced.**

* * *

A jolt of fear coursed through me. Shit, the Volturi. They would be all over this. There was no way they would let this go for long.

Wait.

Wait just a damn minute.

"Ugh, guys…I read the first book years ago. Wouldn't they have already come and gone if they planned on it?"

Again with the long, silent looks between the vamps. Sighing, I slid to the floor, waiting for them to finish whatever conversation they were having. I would have sat on a couch, but that wasn't exactly an option anymore. Watching their faces, it was easy to see that their little talk was growing heated.

Suddenly Edward broke away, storming over to the computer. It had miraculously survived the storm of anger. Leaning forward, he furiously typed a few words into a search engine, then began clicking through the results faster than I could read. Eventually he pulled up a picture.

"Who the fuck is that?" He exclaimed. I grinned, I just could not get over how funny it was that Edward the Priss would say fuck.

His family rushed to his side. One minute they were standing around the room and then without appearing to move they were next to him.

"That's not Stephenie," Alice proclaimed with an offended tone.

"What the hell is going on?" Emmett sounded confused.

Standing I made my way to the computer, peering around the granite bodies in my way. I frowned in confusion. "That's Stephenie."

Edward shook his head. "That's not our Stephenie."

"That's the author though."

Edward pointed to the screen. "_That_ is not our Stephenie. Stephenie should only be twenty-eight years old."

I looked at him askance. He liked 'em kind of old didn't he?

He rolled his eyes. "You do realize how old I am, right? Besides, I was with her ten years ago."

I turned back to the computer. This made no sense. And it was making my head hurt again. Turning, I carefully picked my way through the carnage of the living room. Pieces of the furniture were scattered everywhere. I had to watch my footing to make sure I didn't fall on my face. I was halfway up the stairs before I could walk freely.

It took me a couple tries to find my room. I'd been half-comatose when I'd been led to the room the previous day, so I couldn't quite remember which door I'd walked through. The first door I opened most likely led to Rosalie and Emmett's room. That was my best guess anyway. They were probably the only ones in the house adventurous enough for that room. I couldn't imagine Carlisle and Esme using a swing anyway. But maybe. Esme might have a kinky side. And I was sure a man would go along with anything his partner was willing to try.

The room with an overflowing closet and racks of clothes had to belong to Alice. And the one with a black leather couch and a wall full of CDs was Edward's. That left door number four. Carlisle and Esme's room had to be on the next floor up. Opening the door, I was relieved to find the bland room I had woken in. And there on the nightstand was my purse.

I quickly dug through my purse, locating my Midrin. I only took one though. I didn't want to knock myself out again, just take the edge off the pain. Then I headed back downstairs to see what the leeches were up to.

The living room had undergone another transformation while I was upstairs. It seemed like Esme had withstood the mess as long as she could. There was no sign of debris on the floor any longer. Rosalie was just walking toward the kitchen with the broom in hand as I descended the stairs. There were still cracks in the floors, walls and ceilings of course, standing silent witness to the night's destruction.

The whole Stephenie not being Stephenie thing had me even more confused. What did it mean? Now I was even more determined to find some evidence that this world was all a construct of my imagination.

"Can I use the computer?"

Carlisle nodded, waving a hand toward the device.

While the computer had survived the previous night's assault, the office chair that had accompanied the desk had not. So I was forced to lean forward at an uncomfortable angle to type in my name and state into the search engine. The results were not encouraging for my theory.

"Oh."

Apparently there was a state-wide search going for me at the moment. All because my wrecked car had been found, but no body was located anywhere near the site.

"I told you I'd been in a wreck," I muttered. My eyes moving over the words before me.

The others gathered around me, reading over my shoulder.

I jumped as someone behind me hissed. A cold hand settled lightly on my shoulder. I turned to see Rosalie looked down at me with an unexpected look on her face. Was that compassion? From Rosalie?

"You were kidnapped."

"What!" I turned back to the computer, scanned the rest of the article.

Finally my eyes fell on the words that had led her to that conclusion. The police had found a set of footprints leading away from the crash-site, a set that had been far too large to belong to me. My mouth fell open. Mother fucker. Why the hell would someone kidnap me? Why the hell couldn't I remember it? What the fuck was going on?

"He had to have been a vampire," Edward stated.

I stood, spinning around to face him. "Why?"

He met my eyes, looking at me as if he questioned my intelligence. "You were here within hours of wrecking your car, half-way across the continent. Only a vampire could delivery you here, _by foot_ no less, that quickly. The question is why."

"And why didn't you smell him in the area when you found her?" Emmett asked.

Edward frowned. "Why didn't any of us smell him on her at all?"

He stepped forward, sniffing loudly. He pulled back, considering me with noticeably darker eyes. My heart clenched. Shit. He was hungry. How long had it been since he had eaten? Was I about to become dinner?

Rolling his eyes he took a step back. "Give me a little credit please. I may be hungry, but I do have control. I'm not the least bit tempted."

Carlisle slapped his son on the shoulder. "Still, it is a bit rude to make her so uncomfortable. Why don't you go hunt, Son? Alice, you haven't been hunting in awhile either. I believe the last time you two tried, you were a bit distracted by our visitor here."

I watched the two slip out the door, my mind still in shock over the news that I had been kidnapped by a vampire, only to be left on the side of the road for another vampire to find.

Carlisle's soft voice broke through my haze. "Would you like to call your family to let them know you are okay?"

Oh, damn. Yeah, that'd be a great idea. "Please."

He handed me a cell phone. I dialed quickly and held my breath as I waited for someone to pick up.

"Hello?" An anxious voice answered.

"Hey, Chris. Can you put Dad or Mom on?"

My younger brother gasped. A loud thud rattled my ear. Chris's voice sounded far away. "Shit." Then there was a rustling sound. The next time he spoke his voice was close again. "You still there? I dropped the phone. Please still be there."

I laughed. "I'm still here. Now get Mom or Dad."

"Yeah." He pulled the phone away and yelled. "Mom! Dad! It's Tommy!"

Then it was pandemonium on the other end of the line. For a few seconds it was all yelling and excitement, and it sounded like a fight over who was going to get on the phone. Then another, deeper voice over-rode everything, instructing them to keep 'them' on the line as long as possible. To get a lock on our location. I rolled my eyes. Great. They thought this was the ransom call.

Eventually they both picked up a phone. "Tommy! Is it really you?"

"Yes, Mom, it's really me."

"Are they treating you okay? They haven't hurt you, have they?"

"Who the hell do you think has me? I'm with friends, Dad."

There was a quiet pause. Then Dad spoke again. "What do you mean? What do you remember happening?"

I sighed. "I know I was in a car wreck, Dad. I know that it looks really weird, with the footprints and all that. But…I just had to get out of there. I had to take a break you know?"

My mind was spinning, trying to think fast. I really should have thought up an alibi before I called them, but it was too late now. I couldn't just hang up on them. I had to reassure them now, or they would continue searching for me.

"College was just getting too stressful. I've been getting migraines every other day. You know that. I needed a break. Far away from everything. I had one on the way to school the other day and ended up hitting that tree. I called a friend and he came and picked me up. I guess I freaked out a little. I know I should have called you guys but I just couldn't take it anymore. I had to get as far away as possible."

"Oh, Baby," Mom said quietly. At least she was buying it.

"Where are you?" Dad, on the other hand, sounded damn suspicious.

I raised an eyebrow toward Carlisle. He shook his head, reaching for the phone. "I'd really rather not tell you Dad. I'll call you guys later. I've got to go now. Love you."

Hanging up, I handed the cell phone over. Carlisle crushed it effortlessly, then dumped the debris in a glass of water.

"Was I on long enough for the cops to trace the call?"

"Possibly, but I doubt it." Carlisle answered.

I crossed my arms. "So, what now? When do I go back to my family?"

Rosalie hissed. "You can't go back to your family! You know about us. Do you know what the Volturi would do to us if we let a human wander around with knowledge of our world?"

A chill raced up my spine. Shit. The small amount of compassion she had exhibited earlier had distracted me from her true nature. She may have sympathized with me for a moment, but her family was still her top priority. Not that I blamed her. If I had to choose between the death of one vampire or my whole family being slaughtered…well, I'd be looking for the closest stake. Not that a stake would work on these guys. These weren't Buffy's vamps.

Suddenly all of the vampires in the room stiffened, turning toward the back doors. Or, where they used to be anyway. Now they were just gaping holes with jagged pieces of glass jutting out randomly. They were all watching some far-off spot in the woods.

"What? What's happening?"

Esme answered, her voice strained, her eyes never wavering from the distant spot she was watching. "Edward and Alice are returning."

"So?"

"They are bringing someone with them."

"Oh." Was it my kidnapper?

Had he stuck around? I shivered. Maybe he had never intended to drop me off on the side of the road. Maybe Edward and Alice had interrupted him and he had unintentionally dropped me. Perhaps he had been sticking around, stalking me, waiting for his chance to snatch me up. I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to hide the uncontrollable shaking. Straining my eyes, I tried to see what the others were looking at, but I couldn't make anything out.

And then they were there, coming to a sudden stop just inside the shattered glass doors. Alice and Edward held the stranger between them, each firmly grasping an arm. The stranger was taller than Alice, of course, and only slightly shorter than Edward. But he had a thicker build. His hair was dirty-blond. Where the Cullens were immaculate and graceful, this vampire had a rugged look to him. He also exuded a manliness that the Cullen men just didn't have. And his eyes were bright red.

Those red eyes flitted over the figures in the room, until they landed on me. A lazy grin spread over his handsome face. "Hey, Tommy. How's it hangin'?"

**

* * *

AN: Who do ya'll think the new guy is?**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**Disclaimer: Insert smart-ass Twilight disclaimer here…go ahead, use your imagination.**

Carlisle took over immediately, his calm but firm voice ringing out. "Who is our visitor, Son?"

Edward glared at the newcomer. "He won't say. He just spurts nonsense every time we ask."

Carlisle considered the vampire still held firmly between two of his children. "And why did you feel the need to capture him?"

Alice's expression was grim. "He reeks of Tommy. Smell him."

Rosalie stepped forward with a growl, taking a deep sniff. Stepping back, she frowned in confusion. "I don't smell anything but you and Edward."

The stranger smirked. He glanced around the room and cocked an eyebrow. "Going for the minimalist look?"

The others ignored his sarcastic observation. They were having one of those lovely little conversations too quiet for me to hear. That shit was getting just the slightest bit old.

I studied him, trying to spark a memory. How did he know my name? He had recognized me immediately. His tone had sounded so familiar, like we'd been the best of friends for years now. It made no sense. I'd never seen the guy before.

I realized with a start that the vampire was staring back at me as I studied him. He sent me a wink and a saucy grin, like he'd been waiting for me to notice him watching me. Gritting my teeth, I looked away. I would not blush. I would not give him the satisfaction.

"He must have the ability to mask his scent with the scents of the people he encounters. He has to be the one who brought Tommy here. He's the kidnapper."

I slapped my hands to my ears as a crack echoed through the house. Lowering my hands, I turned in time to see Rosalie stepping back, a clenched fist at her side. The smirk had been wiped clean off the stranger's face and was replaced with a quickly healing fissure. Had she punched him?

"What were you doing with her? Carrying her around as a convenient snack for later?" Rosalie hissed.

"Calm down, Rose," Edward urged.

Emmett growled. "Don't tell my wife what to do."

"He wasn't going to harm her," Edward assured. "I can pick that much up from his thoughts."

The stranger rolled his eyes. "Of course I'm not going to hurt her."

"Then why the hell did you kidnap me? Why not just leave me there? Or at the very least take me to the damn hospital? Why dump me in the middle of fucking nowhere for a bunch of bloodsuckers to find?"

Everyone in the room turned to stare at me.

The new guy threw his head back and laughed. "Damn. That mouth right there? That's why I love her."

And all the attention went back to him. It was like a fucked up version of a tennis match. Wait. Loved me? What the hell?

Carlisle turned to me. "Tommy, do you know this man?"

Man, ha! He wasn't a man. He was a vampire. A people eater from the look of his eyes. I shook my head. "I've never met him. I was unconscious the whole time."

I shivered. That look he was giving me was too familiar. The possibilities were endless for what the asshole could have done with me while I was unconscious and completely vulnerable. Edward caught my stray thought. Growling, he shook the stranger.

"What exactly did you do to her?"

"Calm down." He replied with a bored tone. "I didn't hurt the girl. I was just delivering her to the right place at the right time."

"What the hell is_ that _supposed to mean?" I demanded, swinging my eyes around to meet his once again.

The stranger shrugged. "I dunno. Just following the urge."

First, shock rolled through me. Then the anger followed quickly on it's heals. I was vaguely aware of the family around me shouting in anger as I focused on the stranger. My hands began to shake as I stomped toward him, but I was not going to let a little thing like crippling fear for my life stop me from doing something I wanted to do.

I felt Emmett's hulking presence move to my side as I came face to face with the stranger. I had to tilt my head back a bit to look him in the eyes. He was a few inches taller than me.

I didn't stop to think about what I was doing. Edward would only stop me. That or my common sense would interfere. Pulling my hand back, I slapped him as hard as I could. It didn't hurt him of course, but it sure helped blow off some of my steam. Even if my hand did feel like it was on fire.

"You're an asshole, you know that? You dragged my passed out ass out of a wrecked car, ran me half-way across the damn nation, and then dropped me on the side of the road and walked away because of a damn random urge?"

That annoying shit-eating grin spread across his face once again. "Who said it was random?"

I stomped my foot. Because apparently I was three again. "You left me on the side of the road!"

He rolled his eyes. "I was watchin' the whole time, Sugar. And they showed up not more'n five minutes after I set you down, gentle as can be."

I wanted to punch him, but I would only break my hand. And he wouldn't even feel it. "Emmett, can you beat the shit out of him for me? Pretty please?"

The big guy chuckled. "With pleasure."

Emmett was reaching for him when Carlisle cleared his throat. "We need to find out who he is and _why_ he delivered her first."

The vampire shrugged. "Name's Peter. She was supposed to be here. And now she's supposed to be in Texas. Simple as that."

I scrambled back, irrationally afraid that he was going to break out of Alice and Edward's grasp to whisk me away. "Like hell I'm letting you take me to Texas."

He shrugged. "Fine. Go with them."

Edward turned to him. "He thinks we're supposed to go to Texas. All of us."

"What's in Texas?" Carlisle asked, ever the cool head.

The stranger straightened. "Major Jasper Whitlock of course."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**Disclaimer: I still haven't taken over SM's identity. Give me time. I'm working on it.**

I had trouble paying attention to the conversation being held just a few feet from me. And for once they were speaking at a normal human volume and speed. That wasn't the problem. No, I was too busy studying their skin. The sun was peaking through the clouds ever few minutes, sending rays down on the little summit being held on the back porch. Most of the patio furniture had survived the night's assault.

Where were the sparkles? The glitter? So their skin was slightly luminescent. I would say it had a healthy glow to it, if that wasn't so laughable. But their skin certainly didn't dazzle. I felt vaguely cheated.

Edward turned to me with a scowl. "You can't believe anything from that bitch's books. Do you really think we could have kept our existence hidden for this long if we were sparkly in the sun? That's just ridiculous."

Emmett chuckled. "She _would_ turn you into a sparkly-ass pansy. I'm just surprised she didn't make you gay."

"At least she didn't make me as stupid as a box of rocks."

Emmett crossed his arms. "Yeah, but at least my character was a _likeable _stupid guy. She made you a complete douche."

"Boys, can we please get back to the topic at hand?" Carlisle asked with a long-suffering tone.

"Alice, can you see us going to Texas?" Esme asked quietly.

I wondered how much time they had spent debating the decision while I had been zoning out. What the pros and cons had been.

Alice stood and began pacing. "I can't see anything! I don't know what we're going to do. Would someone just make a damn decision already?"

I pulled my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them. "Why is it so important for us to be in Texas?"

Rosalie rolled her eyes at me. So I must have missed the point in the conversation where they discussed that in detail. Peter sent me a sympathetic look.

"That's where you belong, Sugar."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Now see, I'll have to disagree with you on that. I belong in a Western Literature class right about now. I don't know anybody in Texas and I don't really have the desire to meet anyone there either, not judging by the one emissary I've met so far."

His lips quirked into a grin.

I would love to have the ability to smack that smirk right off his face. But I would only break my hand. I wondered briefly if Carlisle would interrupt again if I tried to sic Emmett on him. Probably, but it was a fun mental image. As I continued to glare at him his grin widened until he was chuckling at me. With a huff I lowered my legs so I could stand. He was making my blood boil, and the rise in blood pressure was making my head pound again. I stomped away, leaving the vampires to argue it out. I was under no delusion that I had a choice in the matter anyway. They were going to take me with them or keep me here. Either way, I wasn't leaving without them. They couldn't allow it.

Fear spiked through me as I climbed the stairs. I was not getting out of this situation alive. Humans weren't allowed to know about their kind. That was one thing Stephenie had gotten right. The Cullens had realized just how big of a mistake they had made, letting her walk away from them with all the knowledge she held. Being as kind as they were by nature, I may have stood a chance before Peter arrived. But they couldn't let me go now that another vampire knew that I was aware of them.

Anger chased the fear away. Damn Peter. It was all his fault that I was even in this situation. He was the one who had dropped me into the laps of the vampires. What the hell was he doing? What was the point? I had no clue that they existed before he came along. I didn't even want to believe in them. Why not go out there and find one of those ridiculous fan girls and pull her into this mess? One of those girls would have appreciated this. I wanted to go back to my real life.

I sat on the edge of the bed and grabbed the bottle of Midrin, pouring a handful out. I popped two in my mouth and dry-swallowed them. Ugh, I hated doing that. I started to tilt my palm to pour the rest back into the bottle. But stopped. I would never go back to my family. I would never yell at my little brother to turn his damn stereo down so I could study. My mother would never guilt me into cleaning my room again. My father would never again eye my outfit with that disapproving expression.

My life had only two directions it could go from here. I would die at the hands of a vampire. And that would be the end. Or, it would be the beginning or a new and completely undesirable life. Either way, I would no longer be living my life back home with my loving family. Shame and guilt overwhelmed me. I never should have called them. All I had done was give them a sense of false hope. Now they would be even more devastated when they learned of my death.

I stared at the red pills in my hand. Did I really want to die at the hand of a vampire? Well, the mouth of one anyway. Did I want to be Peter's next meal? A shudder ran through me, rattling the pills in my palm. There were enough pills left in this bottle to kill me. Right? They would probably put me to sleep first. Most likely, I wouldn't feel anything.

_What the hell? You aren't really this pathetic are you?_

Sighing, I tilted my hand to pour them into the bottle, just as a breeze blew my hair across my face. _Where they hell is the wind coming from?_ Something hard knocked against my hand, knocking the bottle and all of the pills to the floor. Then cold hands were gripping my shoulders, pulling me off the bed.

"How many did you take?" A deep voice growled in a panicked tone as the hands shook me roughly.

"S-s-s-stop." I pushed out through my clicking teeth. It was hard to think with my brain sloshing around like that.

Peter finally stopped shaking me. He kept the firm grip on my shoulders though as he stared into my eyes. I felt like I was in one of those after school specials. Was he expecting dilated pupils? Bloodshot eyes?

"How many of the damn pills did you take, Sugar?"

"I only took two." I tried to pull back but he was holding me too firmly. I would have bruises.

And what was with the commotion in the doorway? Great. The whole family had come to witness the intervention.

He narrowed his eyes. What? He thought I was lying?

"I saw you taking them, Sug."

That didn't sound right at all. "I thought you had random urges. Now you're having visions? Which is it? I thought you guys only had one special super power."

"Don't change the subject. I'm sure Carlisle here has the necessary equipment to pump your stomach. How many did you take?"

"I already told you! I took two! The rest are on the floor!"

He glanced down at the floor, lifting one foot to reveal several of the time-release capsules smashed open, the smaller spheres ground into the carpet by his dust-covered boot. I grimaced. Those pills were expensive.

His grip loosened. "Why were you about to kill yourself?"

I kneeled and began to salvage the pills that I could, angrily shoving them back into their little pill bottle home. My cheeks were flaming. An entire family was watching this lovely little soap opera. Shoving the last pill into the bottle, I slammed it onto the nightstand and stood.

"Why the hell do you even care? What does it matter _how_ I die? It's going to happen one way or another. I imagine this way would hurt a hell of a lot less than being served up as the entree."

Peter frowned. "Who said you were going to die?" He spun around to glare at the others. "Did someone threaten you?"

I snorted. "We all know humans can't know about you guys. It's not like you can let me walk away now. What, I'm going to be kept as the housemaid from now on? The pet? No thank you. Just go ahead and kill me now."

Peter turned back to me with an exasperated expression. "You aren't going to be anyone's pet. If ya'll would just stop dragging your feet and get your asses to Texas already, this would all be cleared up."

I crossed my arms. "What is so damn important about Texas?"

"I already told you. Jasper is there."

"So? What's so special about Jasper? I mean, I know he can screw with people's emotions and shit, but what's so great about that? I like my emotions just how they are, thanks. I can see why you'd want the Cullens to go, since Alice is supposed to be his mate and all, but I have no reason to go."

Peter snarled. "Alice is _not_ Jasper's mate."

"But, in the books…"

He narrowed his eyes at me as the family started up their now familiar rant about how off-base the books had been. Peter took a step closer toward me. Apparently vampires didn't believe in the personal bubble. At least his breath smelled nice. "You really need to get all that shit from the books out of your head. Do you understand me? By the time we get to Jasper, you need to have a clean slate in that pretty little head of yours. You cannot mention Alice being his mate anywhere near him."

"Why? Maybe they really would hit it off."

"Sweetheart, he ain't the soft, loveable Jasper from the books. And I really don't want you to piss him off." He turned so he was half facing the doorway. "I'm sick of this shit. I don't really care what ya'll decide to do, but Tommy's coming with me. Pack your bags and come along. Or not. We leave in five minutes."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**Disclaimer: I'm not Steph.**

* * *

I had every intention of arguing with him. Who was he to tell me where I was going? No way in hell I was letting the red-eyed bastard drag me half-way across the continent, _again_, just to meet his precious Major Whitlock. Nuh-uh. Not happening. But as I opened my mouth to protest, he started getting all bendy and wavy. What the hell?

Well shit. _I timed that all wrong._ I didn't have time to think anything else as those two red pills came back to bite me in the ass. I stumbled backward into the bed, allowing myself to fall gracelessly into the pile of sheets. I'd never been one for making a bed. I was just going to climb right back in a few hours later after all.

Peter leaned over me, his brow furrowed. "You okay, Sugar?"

I lifted a hand and waved it floppily in his direction. "Shhh…both of you. Tryin' to rest."

His brow lowered further. "You sure you only took two?"

Ignoring him, I rolled over, pulling the comforter with me to block out the light.

The next time I opened my eyes I was in an airplane. Shocked the hell right out of me. It was a small private jet by the looks of it. An expensive small private jet. The seats were roomy and leather. The only other time I'd been on a plane I had been squished into the middle seat like a sardine, and I was on the smaller size of average.

I glanced to my left to see Edward seated by the window, taking advantage of the natural light to, big shock here, read.

He raised his head to give me one of his looks before turning back to his book. I glared at him. "I thought you guys weren't coming."

He grinned down at his book. "You also thought you weren't coming."

Crossing my arms, I started looking around for the red-eyed demon who had kidnapped me, _again_. "If those damn pills hadn't kicked in, I would have told him that I wasn't coming."

"And you think he would have listened?"

"I would have made him listen."

Edward closed his book and turned his golden-brown eyes to me. "You are not that stupid, Tommy. You must comprehend the danger you are in."

Of course I did. Frustration welled up in my chest. I couldn't win. No matter what I did, I was stuck. It didn't matter if I managed to get this Peter guy to leave me alone, I was still stuck with an entire coven of vampires up my ass. How was that any better? Sure, they swore they didn't have any interest in my blood, but what happened in two weeks when I had my period? Huh? Stephenie never put much thought into that little detail in her books, did she?

Edward cringed. "Please. That's disgusting."

I cocked an eyebrow at him. "I would think blood is blood is blood."

His lip curled. "You're making me physically ill. I didn't even know a vampire could feel nauseous."

I snorted. Pansy.

I looked around again. Where was the bastard? I wanted to give him a piece of my mind. He thought he could just pick me up and cart me around whenever and wherever he liked? I wasn't a damn doll. I was a human being. He never should have taken those choices away from me, and I was going to beat it through his thick skull if it was the last thing I did. And it would be, if I attempted the beating personally. Maybe if I got Emmett to do it though…

"He's flying the plane with Alice," Edward supplied, an odd little note of concern in his voice.

"You trust him to be in control of this thing? Knowing him he could crash it, just because of one of his damn random urges."

The familiar sound of speakers clicking to life filled the fuselage, then Peter's voice drifted from the speakers. "They are not random!"

Glaring, I raised one hand to flip off the door leading to the cockpit.

The speakers clicked on again. "Very unladylike, Tommy."

"Bite me," I muttered.

"Don't tempt me," he replied.

"Do you always play with fire?" Edward asked in a conversational tone. He didn't seem to care one way or the other. But then, why would he? We both knew I wasn't getting out of this situation alive, so it was best that he didn't form any real emotional bond with me.

I considered his question. A slow grin formed. "You know, I'd have to say yes."

Images from the past five years flicked through my head. I had taken some incredibly stupid risks. But damn I had fun. Even if I had added a few extra scars to my collection. And my left knee did come in pretty handy for predicting approaching weather fronts. That motorcycle wreck had been a doozy, and the month-long stay in the hospital sure hadn't been fun. The night leading up to it had been one hell of a night though.

The door to the cockpit flew open, slamming against the wall. Peter stormed out, his angry red eyes snapping onto mine. I didn't even see him move. He was suddenly by my side, right in my face, gripping my arm tightly.

"You will never do anything that reckless and stupid again, do you understand me?"

I stared at him in shock. Gone was the laid back, slightly off-kilter Peter. This guy was completely insane. This guy could snap my neck in an instant. I would never know it was coming.

His jaw clenched. "Are you retarded? I'm not going to snap your damn neck! Do I have to smother you in bubble wrap to keep you safe?"

I shook my head, my voice having abandoned me. My mind was spinning though. Why was he acting so protective of me? I was nothing to him. At best I was some kind of pet to him, something to drag around from place to place. It was like some kind of sick joke, take the human away from everyone she knows and loves, drop her into this world and watch her suffer. He couldn't do all of that to me and then turn around and act so worried about my safety.

"Pet?" Angry disbelief dripped from his words. "You think I see you as a pet?"

"Shit," Edward shot out of his seat. "Emmett, need your help here."

Emmett popped up behind Peter, wrapping his huge arms around the smaller vampire, trapping Peter's arms. Peter's eyes were still glued to mine, even as his body began to shake with rage.

"You ungrateful bitch! Everything I've done was for you!"

Edward moved to stand between Peter and me, cutting off our line of sight. His cool, calm voice filled the jet. "Peter, you have to calm down. We will be fine if you tear this jet apart. She won't."

"Everything! Decades of preparation! Charlotte and the Major are back home waiting for her. I saved her ass from a car wreck! Took her to the best damn doctor I know! And she thinks I see her as a pet, at the _best_."

Edward reached forward to pat the other man's shoulder awkwardly. "I understand. Quite ungrateful." _Well fuck you too, Edward,_ I thought in his direction. He continued on as if he hadn't heard me. "But try to understand this from her perspective. You've all known about her for over a hundred years. She's had less than twenty-four hours. This is a big adjustment for her, and without any warning. It will take some time."

I waited anxiously to see what would happen next. But my mind played with Edward's words as I waited. Hundreds of years? They had known about me for hundreds of years? Who the hell were _they_ and what exactly had they know about me? Who was I to them? What was so special about me to them? I tapped my fingers on my knees as I considered the implications. The idea that I was a super special dinner was a little ludicrous. So, that meant I probably wasn't going to be eaten.

Peter snorted. "Thank you! It's about damn time."

Edward nodded to Emmett. He slowly released his arms, watching the smaller vampire closely for any signs of attack. When Peter remained calm, Emmett sent a reassuring smile in my direction before plopping back into his seat.

I glanced between the two standing vampires, anxiety still making my throat feel tight. "So if you aren't going to eat me, why do you want me in Texas so badly?"

Peter shuffled nervously from foot to foot, before glancing over at Edward. Edward gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head. What the hell? Peter turned back to me with a boyish shrug.

"I don't think now is the time to tell you."

"What? Why the hell not?"

Edward sent me an amused grin. "Cause you'd probably run screaming out of this plane, sans parachute."

My mouth was instantly dry. What the hell could be so bad that I would want to jump out of the airplane without a parachute? What did he know that I didn't know? Dammit, this was my life! What the hell gave these bloodsuckers the idea that they had any right to keep making these decisions for me?

Peter turned his head slightly to the right, toward the cockpit. Then he turned back to the me with a regretful smile. "Sorry, Sugar, but we gotta finish this conversation some other time. We're a few minutes outside the airport. Time for me to go land this plane."

He turned and sauntered away. I glared at his back. I was really starting to hate that guy.

Edward slid back into the seat next to me. "You should prepare yourself."

"For what? Landing? I've got my seatbelt on."

Edward sent me _the look_ again. The one that made me feel like a mentally challenged four year old. "You're about to meet Major Whitlock. Judging by Peter's thoughts on him, I'd say we all need to be on our best behavior. Unless you really do want to be eaten, you've got fifteen minutes to learn to keep your mouth shut."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**Disclaimer: I think by now you get that I'm in no way responsible for Twilight. If not…seek professional help, please. **

* * *

My stomach knotted up as I felt the plane descending. The pressure change began to screw with my equilibrium. Gripping the armrests as tightly as I could, I closed my eyes and prayed for the wheels to touch solid ground as quickly and safely as possible. A cold, hard hand settled on my own.

"They know what they're doing. They've been flying since airplanes were invented. We'll be fine."

I wanted to draw comfort from his words. But my mind was playing a loop of every plane crash news story I'd ever seen. Plane crashes were hardly ever the fault of the pilot. Every story I could recall had more to do with mechanical failure than anything else.

And then the plane gave a little bump as the wheels touched down. I could feel the deceleration. All of the air rushed from my lungs in a loud whoosh. Shit, I hadn't even realized that I had been holding my breath. I probably looked ridiculous to the family around me. Terrified of flying, like a child. Vampires I was fine with, but an airplane sent me into panic mode? How stupid was that? Millions of people flew every year without any problems. Flying was safer than driving. Hell, I'd been in a car wreck a day and a half earlier and I'd gladly climb behind the steering wheel of a car before getting back into a plane.

"See, safely on the ground," Edward reassured quietly from beside me.

It would be rude to flip off the person trying to comfort me, wouldn't it?

I settled for pulling my hand out from under his so I could unfasten my seat belt. Then I was up out of that seat and heading for the door. I wanted out of the flying death trap as soon as possible.

A chuckle right behind me surprised me, making me jump. Damn Peter for his super stealth.

"Don't tell me tough little Tommy is scared of flying?"

I crossed my arms and continued staring straight ahead. I was tired of dealing with Peter. I was tired of his smirk. Tired of his teasing tone. His know it all attitude. I was just sick and tired of Peter.

"Sugar, you keep thinking like that and I'll start to think that you don't like me." He leaned in to speak quietly in my ear. Peter's intoxicating breath blew my hair softly, he was so close.

My stomach twisted again, but for a different reason this time. Embarrassment flooded me as I heard a soft rumble drifting up from my midsection. If I could hear my stomach growling, then I knew everyone else in the plane could hear it much clearer. But damn, I hadn't eaten since breakfast the day before. Had I? I'd been taking so many of those damn Midrin for my head, I was knocking myself out before I could realize that I was hungry.

A cold hand settled on my shoulder, a thumb and forefinger curving up onto my neck.

"What the hell?" Peter's voice rang out suddenly, filled with rage. "You haven't fed her at all?"

I shivered, a reaction to the anger in his voice and the cold emanating from his hand. The thumb on my neck began to move in slow circles, probably an attempt to soothe me. All I could think about was the fact that with that hand he could snap my neck before I even saw it coming.

With a sigh, Peter pulled his hand away, dragging it slowly across the skin on my neck.

"She never said she was hungry!" Edward defended. "It's been awhile since we've cared for a human."

"Yeah, and look how well that turned out."

I turned in time to see a look of confusion flitting across Edward's face. "Stephanie is fine. In fact she's doing well enough to write novels that could be the death of the Cullen family."

Peter snorted. "You should do a better job of keeping in touch with your exes Eddie."

Before Edward could question him, my stomach rumbled louder. Peter turned back to me immediately, that annoying smirk moving over his face, wiping out the anger completely.

"We need to get you something to eat, Sugar." He paused. "What do people eat anyway?"

"What do you mean what do people eat? You used to be a person. Don't you remember?"

He shrugged. "Not really. The memories from my human years are very vague. Besides, I'm sure things have changed over the years. I had to hunt my own meat. Grow my own crops."

"But you still live in this world. Don't you pay any attention to what's happening around you?"

He stared at me. "Why would I care what my prey eats?"

I clamped my mouth shut, my stomach rolling again. Just when I was forgetting, when I was starting to imagine that these creatures were people, he went and said something that forced me to remember that they were in fact monsters. That all of them, even the supposed _vegetarians_ would love to take a bite out of me. And if any of them were ever brought to the starvation point, that was exactly what would happen. I would end up being dinner.

Esme stepped forward with an attempt at a warm smile. "I'm sure we can find a restaurant close by."

And they did find a restaurant. Or a facsimile of one anyway. I ate my chicken McNuggets with little zeal. But at least they were food. Kind of. The fries I enjoyed the hell out of though.

We sat around a picnic table at a park while they watched me eat. The family didn't want to appear strange by having so many people not eating in the McDonalds. And they sure weren't going to let me out of their sight for any length of time. Peter refused and the Cullens didn't seem to trust him alone around me. So Edward, Alice, Peter and I had taken our rental car through the drive-thru while the rest of the family had waited in the parking lot in the H3 Emmett had insisted on.

I felt a little like an exhibit at the zoo. Everyone was watching me as I ate. Most of them attempting to watch me with an impassive face. But Edward's expression was pure disgust.

"How can you eat that? It smells disgusting."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Coming from the creature who sucks blood."

Peter frowned at Edward. "At least she's eating something that's natural for her kind." He shot his eyes to the nugget that was nearing my mouth. "I think."

"You however, are slowly starving yourselves. You're all malnourished to the point you're losing abilities. You're down to what? One each now? If that? You're hardly better than an albino on steroids at this point."

I swallowed my mouthful quickly. "Wait. What? You're supposed to have more than the one ability?"

Edward glared at Peter before turning to meet my eyes. His family fidgeted around me, appearing more nervous than I thought possible. "We have had to make some sacrifices in order to live the life that we believe is morally right."

So they gave up their super powers, one by one, just to avoid killing people. I had to smile at him. It was noble. To sacrifice oneself to save others. To stand up for what they believed in, no matter the cost to themselves.

Peter snorted. "They aren't being noble. They're just scared. Of the power, of the monster within. They didn't like the responsibility that comes with having that much strength, with having the power to decide who lives and dies. So they ran like scared little children."

"So…do human drinkers have every ability, or some a collection of them?"

Peter shrugged. "Does every human have the same talents? Can you all sing, dance, paint, sculpt, bake, decorate, weld, work on cars, build houses-"

"Okay, I get the point."

Peter sent me a smirk before gesturing two fingers toward my empty containers. "You ready to meet Jasper?"

I shrugged. What was the big deal about meeting Jasper? They were acting like he was some big threat. I mean, I knew he was a threat to Bella in the books, but they kept telling me not to believe everything I read in the books. Besides, the only reason he was a threat in the story was because of the insane animal diet. With him eating people on a regular basis, I shouldn't be some big temptation to him, right? I mean, that thirst was sated.

Edward and Peter both shook their heads at me, the patience in their expressions worn thin.

Peter was the one to explain. "Tommy, Jasper _is_ dangerous. He's not the pansy-ass Jasper from the books. He doesn't wear loafers and button-down shirts. You need to watch every emotion, every move, every facial expression, and especially every word you say around him."

I scowled. "Hey, if he isn't going to like my personality, why the hell are you taking me there? You know I'm just going to say something stupid and wind up dead."

He sent me the look. "We're going 'cause it's where you're supposed to be. Besides, he'll like your personality. As long as you aren't back talking him."

See, that was the part that made me nervous.

* * *

The drive was far too short. Nerves churned through my stomach as I watched the dry Texas landscape pass by. That, or it was the grease from my late lunch. Either way, I wasn't ready when Peter turned the wheel, pulling into the ranch. The churning in my stomach kicked up into full-blown nausea as we neared a sprawling ranch-style house.

And then the car was parked, the engine was off, and everyone else was climbing out. My door opened, and Peter peered in. "You gonna stay in there all day, Sugar?"

I looked up at him, my brain stalling. "I think I'm gonna puke."

He rolled his eyes before reaching into the car to pull me out. "You'll be fine. Everyone's gonna love you. Trust me."

I snorted. Right. Trust the guy who saw me as a late afternoon snack.

His cool hand slid onto the small of my back, pushing me gently but insistently toward the house. "I do not see you as a snack. At the very least _you_ are a gourmet meal."

I snorted, unexplainably buoyed by his reply. The levity lasted until we reached the front door. But as soon as Peter stepped forward, pulling me along with him, my nerves were back. Why the hell did I let him do this to me? My mind flashed to the pill bottle in my purse.

Peter's growl interrupted my thoughts. "You can stop right there, Darlin'. You ain't gonna be overdosin' on those pills on my watch. Besides, I took 'em outta your purse while you were knocked out. Those suckers really hit you hard."

Indignation coursed through me. Why the hell couldn't Emmett have been the one who retained the ability to read minds? I really needed him to get his ass moving and beat the shit out of the jackass standing there grinning at me. Peter was just so proud of himself.

"And what if I get another migraine? I need those damn pills. You had no right to go digging through my purse!"

He crossed his arms. "Because you were being so responsible with them. Calm down, Sugar. I'll know if you're hurting, and I'll give you the proper dosage. That is, if it's been long enough since you've had the last dose. According to the bottle, you're allowed six to eight in a twenty-four hour period. Just how many of those things have you taken since that car wreck?"

"This might not be the best time and place for this discussion," Carlisle interjected.

"Oh butt out," I replied before turning back to Peter. "It's really none of your business what I have and have not taken."

"If you ever want another one, you'll tell me how many of those damn pills you took!" He raised his voice to a painful level.

I glared at him. "I'm sure it's not that many."

He narrowed his eyes. "You don't even know. Do you? Dammit, Tommy! Are you trying to kill yourself?"

"Of course not! I'd say you're the one trying to kill me. Dragging me from one nest of vampires to another. If you'd just left me in my damn car I probably wouldn't have needed all those pills anyway. It's all this stress that's causing the migraines!"

"And I already told you, I've only been taking you where you're supposed to be!"

"And who the hell are you to tell me where the fuck I'm supposed to be? You sure don't look like God to me!"

"As much as I enjoy seeing a human chew up your ass and spit it out, would you care to tell me exactly what is going on here, Peter? You might also want to explain where the fuck you have been and who the hell you brought home with you."

I turned to see a blonde-haired man standing in the doorway. His posture screamed authority. It also screamed 'I'm pissed and about to start ripping heads off unless someone begins explaining in the next two seconds.'

This must be Major Jasper Whitlock.

I was screwed.

**

* * *

**

**AN: So...major fail on my part. Sorry for making you guys wait so long for an update on this one. I don't really have an excuse, just apologies. **

**Another AN: I guess I do have one excuse. FF is being all buggy and not letting me update the damn story. I finally get around to writing the chapter, devoting my Sunday afternoon to it, and I can't even post it! Do you have any idea how frustrating that is?**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**Disclaimer: Don't own, I'm not published…although if I take my friend up on his offer, I could be…**

* * *

Peter's back straightened to military-worthy posture.

"Major, this is Tommy," he said, followed by a weird little pause where he didn't say anything at all with his mouth but I could practically feel the conversation continuing. Then he started talking again like he had never paused, "And this is the Cullen coven."

He went on to introduce everyone by name, but the new vampire's eyes never strayed from my face. I felt like squirming under the red gaze. But as soon as Jasper had appeared, Peter had shifted his hand, gathering a fistful of my shirt tightly in his iron fist. It served as a handy reminder that I was surrounded by these creatures. There was no running. There was no escape.

"Interesting," Jasper murmured once the introductions were complete.

I frowned. Interesting? What the hell kind of response was that? His eyebrow popped up as he continued to stare at me. I quickly schooled my expression and tried to calm down my emotions too, finally remembering that he was supposed to be able to read those as well. Shit, could he read thoughts? I was so gonna die if he could read thoughts. There was no way in hell I was going to keep myself out of hot water if he had that little skill.

Of course he could read thoughts. How else had he and Peter been speaking earlier without words? Well hell, I might as well climb onto the table and ring the dinner bell.

"Come on in," he said in a quiet Texas drawl.

He shifted to the side, giving just enough room for us to file into the house single file. Peter moved forward, releasing his hold on my shirt. It was a good thing too, because there was no way in hell I was walking into that house first.

My heart pounded in my chest as I stepped forward to follow Peter. I would have to squeeze past Jasper to enter the dark doorway. There was just enough room for me to pass him without brushing against his chest. And his red eyes were still boring into me.

Clenching my teeth together, I stared at Peter's back as I crossed the threshold. I could feel the predator next to me watching my every move as I stepped through the doorway. I even caught myself holding my breath. How stupid was that? I wasn't going to suddenly become invisible to them if my lungs weren't gushing air in and out for a few measly seconds. Hell, my heart was certainly beating loud enough for everyone in the house to pinpoint exactly where I was.

Peter led our little parade of freaks into the living room. Curiosity briefly overrode my fear as I surveyed the room. Huh. There was something off about the room. I looked over everything again, trying to pinpoint what exactly was bothering me.

A cold hand slid against my back, settling on the curve just above the waist band of my jeans. I jumped slightly in surprise before sending a glare toward Peter. He responded with a warning look.

Right, I probably shouldn't be criticizing Jasper's living room.

Jasper followed Emmett into the room. Anxiety began to creep up my spine as I watched him sizing up the larger vampire. Emmett may have bulk on his side, but I had the feeling Jasper could tear the larger creature apart effortlessly. I didn't like this at all. Judging by the look on his face, Emmett was assessing the opposition and he wasn't any more comfortable than me. What happened if this turned into some kind of vampire war, with me standing in the middle of it?

So far, Peter had seemed somewhat invested in my safety. But he had been trying to get me safely to Jasper. Now that I was delivered, intact, would he care what happened to me from this point forward? Sure, he had alluded to some kind of higher purpose to me being here, but would anyone care about that if all hell broke loose? Would anyone remember the human in the room if the shit hit the fan?

The hand on my back pressed against me firmly for a half second, just long enough for me to know it wasn't my imagination. Was that supposed to be Peter's way of reassuring me? Or was he confirming my imaginings? Closing my eyes tightly I wished once again that this was just a hallucination. That I had really gone into a coma when I crashed my car.

I opened my eyes, focusing on the blank wall across from me. Oh. That's what was wrong. No decorations. No color scheme. No pictures on the wall. There wasn't even any paint. The walls were white. The carpet was the same generic beige that the contractor had probably installed in all the homes they built, to save money. There wasn't even a coffee table. Just a cheap couch and one recliner. And both looked like they'd been rescued from the side of the road. Honestly, they should both have been put out of their misery.

The Cullens' house had been a fairly decent imitation of a home. There were decorations, flowers, family pictures, artwork. The furniture all matched. There was an over-arching theme. Jasper's house was worse than a bachelor pad. There was no warmth, no sense of home. No lived-in air to the building.

Movement caught my eye, yanking my wandering attention span back to the matter at hand: staying alive. Jasper was moving through the room, eyeing each intruder thoroughly. I watched his interaction with Alice closely. Not that it was really any of my business. But hell, I was stuck in the room with them. I might as well watch. What was he going to do when he saw her? Was there going to be an immediate reaction? She watched him approach with an intense expression. She was analyzing every move he made, every expression. In turn, he became more cautious as he neared her, probably due to her intensity.

He didn't show any favoritism to Alice though. He seemed to spend the same amount of time analyzing the threat she posed as he had on the others. No more, no less. And then he was standing before Peter and me, again.

"Well? There any particular reason we're havin' a little get together at my place that I didn't know anything about?"

Peter's easy going, shrug it all off attitude seemed to be a thing of the past. He was still ramrod straight as he faced Jasper. "I had one of my feelings, Sir."

Sir? Did he just call Jasper 'Sir'? Now that was taking the Major shit just a little too far. I had never joined any military and I wasn't about to start calling anyone 'Sir'.

Those red eyes flicked to mine for a brief second, his expression devoid of any humor. In fact, he looked kind of pissed. It was only a split second, but it felt like an hour and a half of staring into blood red eyes.

So, what did it really matter if he liked being called 'Sir'? It was just another name. Right? I could get used to saying it.

"And you _felt_ you had to bring the biggest fucking coven this side of the Volturi into my living room? That felt like a good idea to you?"

Peter lowered his head slightly. "They won't be here long."

Jasper's eyes flicked to mine again. "If you brought them here for me to be the damn judge, jury and executioner for their indiscretions, you can think again. If I wanted to play that game, I'd have taken Aro up on his offer."

Peter lifted his free hand to rub his neck. "Actually, she's not their indiscretion."

Jasper's eyebrows rose and a burst of surprise shot through the room. I had barely gasped in reaction before the emotion was yanked back, leaving my own confusion in its place. Jasper's eyebrows lowered as anger began to fill his eyes.

"What have you done?"

The cold left my back as Peter lifted both hands in a placating manner. "It's not as bad as it sounds. This is _her, _Major."

Silence met his proclamation.

No! Don't leave me hanging! This is who? Who the hell am I? Okay, I knew who I was to _me_, but I had no clue who the hell they seemed to think I was to _them_. And it didn't seem like any of them were going to be filling me in any time soon. Because they had all swiveled their heads around to stare towards the front door. Great. What now?

A few seconds later the door burst open to reveal a smallish female vampire. Her red eyes zeroed in on me for a second before flying to Jasper's.

"What the hell is she doing here? I thought we talked about this? I don't care what you do away from the house, but you can't play with your food here."

* * *

**AN: Um...hi...been awhile huh? Yeah, I'll just be in time-out with my nose in that corner over there for making ya'll wait so long for such a short little update on this one. **


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, just this deranged little plot bunny.**

* * *

"Now Darlin', this ain't like that," Jasper explained, sounding for all the world like a husband caught with a strange woman in his house. And for all I knew, that's exactly what had happened.

The new vampire anchored her hands on her hips, started tapping one foot and tilted an eyebrow up, waiting for further explanation.

Jasper shoved a hand toward Peter. "She's all his."

The red eyes narrowed. "You expect me to believe that? He hasn't fed on a woman in a century, since he had that asinine vision."

Jasper threw his hands up in the air before sending Peter a furious glare. "It's your ass if she tries to dismember me again."

Peter turned quickly to the female, using an arm around my back to bring me along. "Charlotte, this is Tommy. She's finally here!"

Charlotte examined me then snorted. "Someone actually named their daughter Thomas?"

Peter smiled down at me as I glanced between the two of them in confusion. Charlotte didn't seem all that surprised about my name. Her hands slid off of her hips slowly as the frown began to morph to a surprised grin.

"I'll be damned," she muttered. "She does exist."

I shivered. I did not like this at all.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Jasper exclaimed. "Just because he got the name right that doesn't mean he got anything else right."

Peter stiffened beside me. "She was right where she was supposed to be. She's shown the preliminary signs already."

"I swear you were drunk when I turned you. It seriously stunted your gifts. There is no way _this_ little human is anything like what you saw in your vision."

I frowned. Asshole. If I were a vampire I'd tear his fucking tongue out for that one. Peter's hand suddenly tightened on my side as tension flooded the room. I glanced up to see Jasper staring hard at me. Shit. Mind reading vampires can hear your mental threats idiot.

Well, he'd heard it anyway. "Fuck you, Jasper. You don't even know me."

Peter shifted me slightly behind him, speaking quickly. "Forgive her. She hasn't been cared for properly since I left her in the care of the Cullens. They weren't feeding her and they were letting her overdose on medication."

He sent a glare around the room as he said this.

Jasper's hard red eyes never left mine as he considered Peter's words. "Hmm. You would think a doctor would know better."

Carlisle had the grace to look ashamed. "We were dealing with a few minor issues. First, finding the human abandoned on the side of the road, in a clear state of trauma and shock. Then, learning our existence had been documented in a book that would surely lead the Volturi straight to our door."

Jasper growled before turning his gaze back to Peter. "And you brought _them_ to my house too? With the Volturi possibly on their heels? What the hell did you eat last? A pot-head?"

Peter shrugged. "The Volturi won't be a problem."

Jasper crossed his arms. "And tell me why, Oh Great and All Seeing Oracle. Why won't the Volturi be a problem if they come looking for this family and find them hiding in my territory? How will I explain what looks like a case of aiding and abetting?"

"They don't look angry in my vision."

Jasper stared at Peter for a few seconds before turning and walking away. My body grew cold, a ball of fear appearing first in my stomach and expanding out to the rest of my body. Jasper made it half-way across the room before he stopped and just stood there, his back turned to us. I felt myself beginning to shake from the overload of emotions I was feeling. Aggression was rolling off of Jasper in waves. Peter shifted so that he was standing between Jasper and me. I peered around his back to see the Cullens. They were whispering quietly to each other, their faces frozen in masks of horror.

Suddenly Peter gasped as Jasper whipped around. Peter started shaking his head no as Jasper opened his mouth. "You'll escort the Cullens home and get rid of her."

"I can't do that," Peter argued.

"If you can't, I will," Jasper warned, a cold, final note to his words.

"She belongs here. You can't hurt her." Peter's shoulders straightened in front of me. "I won't let you."

I heard Charlotte snort behind me. Shit, I'd forgotten one of those things was behind me.

"Do not forget who you're speaking to," Jasper warned.

"And don't forget who you're orderin' around like some lackey!" Peter fired back. "You've relied on my visions to get you through a fuckin' war, Man. You're gonna start doubtin' 'em now? You can't just sit back and see where this leads? You can't trust me?"

They stared at each other for a long, tense moment, no sound disturbing their staring contest. Finally Peter shook his head, his voice coming out in a sad tone. I couldn't see anything from my vantage point behind him, but I could imagine the heart-broken look on his face. "Fine. I'll take her and I'll leave. But you sure as hell won't ever see me again."

Frowning I studied Peter's back. He felt so strongly about me that he was willing to lose his family over me?

"Excuse me?" Alice spoke up, her eyes wide, her voice filled with anxiety. "I hate to interrupt, but I thought you all might like to know that the Volturi should be here in five minutes."

"Of course. Because this is the perfect time to entertain a dinner party. Look, Peter was even good enough to deliver the main course." Jasper snidely remarked.

A growl ripped through the form in front of me. "For the last time, she's not a damn blue plate special! You aren't laying one finger on her, do you hear me? Your teeth won't ever touch her skin!"

I stepped back. He seemed really close to losing his temper. This was definitely the angriest I'd ever seen Peter. Of course that wasn't saying much since I'd only known him a few hours really. Even his little hissy fit on the plane was nothing compared to this. Maybe if I thought about my foolish escapades from the past he'd actually calm down a little. I tested the theory by thinking about a stupid street race I'd gotten into with a friend once. When I'd topped the hill another car had been heading straight for me and I had to run off the road to avoid a head-on collision. I had been so stupid as a teenager.

He turned to shoot me a little glare. "That is not helping."

He turned back to Jasper. "I'll rip every tooth out of your head before I let you near her."

Charlotte moved up beside me, eyeing me casually. She seemed to have calmed down considerably now that she no longer thought her man, mate, whatever, was screwing around with me. "Won't be long before they get down to the heart of the matter and whip out the measuring tape to see who has the biggest dick."

I grinned at her, enjoying her humor despite the tense atmosphere. "Of course, they'll also have to see who has the biggest balls."

Charlotte nodded before leaned toward me with a conspiratorial look. "Don't tell Jasper, but it's Peter. He's much bigger."

"What!"

Suddenly Jasper was right there, beside Charlotte. He was pulling Charlotte away, so she wasn't standing quite so close to Peter any longer.

"What the hell did you just say?"

Charlotte smiled up at him innocently. "I said you two needed to stop arguing like three-year-olds. That's what I said."

He shook his head, darting a suspicious look toward the male behind him. "That is not what you said. I heard you!"

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "I had to break up your little pissing contest somehow. Now can we please focus on the important matters? Like our visitors?"

"That's what I was _trying_ to do until you pulled your little stunt."

"Not those visitors, Hon. I'm talking about the ones that just pulled into the drive."

* * *

**AN: Sorry it's taken so long for me to update. My muse has been very stingy with the writing inspiration lately. **


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**Disclaimer: Twilight is not mine.**

* * *

"Get outside," Jasper ordered. "No way in hell this is goin' down in my living room."

I ran an eye over the room one more time as Peter steered me toward the exit. _Actually, a battle might improve the décor. Give it a little character._

"No shit," Charlotte muttered beside me. "Major Tight Fist over there won't release any of the budget for decorating."

I kept my mouth firmly shut and tried my hardest not to even think about the situation. About how in any relationship _I_ was a part of, no one person would have that much control over the finances. Peter suddenly pushed me out ahead of him, away from Charlotte.

"I think the meet and greet fun time is over now, Sugar."

I glanced behind me to see a defensive cloud of anger rolling across Charlotte's face. Shit. So…she could probably read minds too. Good to know. I quickly shifted my gaze to the front as her red eyes narrowed in my direction. I wasn't going to last the hour, not with the way my attitude was getting me in trouble at every turn. What the hell had Peter been thinking? Dragging me down here? Whoever was directing his little 'urges' must have a real grudge against me.

We filed out of the house in an orderly fashion. A bystander wouldn't have any idea that we were coming out to greet a possible firing squad. The group moved quite a distance from the house. Again, I wasn't sure why. The house wasn't anything special. It was just a run of the mill ranch style home. Jasper surely could have done better for himself.

He shot me a glare as he walked by. "I like my home."

Right. I should just stare at the dust and try to act brain dead. Before I insulted the wrong person one too many times and _became_ brain dead.

A sleek black car pulled to a stop a few feet from where Jasper stood. I swallowed around a lump in my throat. One car. That was a good sign, right? They hadn't sent out too big of a force.

"Depending on who's in there, one car-load is all it'd take, Sugar."

Of course.

The passenger side door opened, releasing a female vampire. My brain froze for a second, trying to assimilate the information I was receiving. She was so little. Her dark hair twisted around her face in the breeze as her eyes darted around the crowd, taking our measure. Then she was at the back door, opening it and assisting someone else out. A taller man in an expensive looking business suit rose slowly from the rear of the car, a small smile on his face, like he was out for a pleasant afternoon's drive.

The other doors popped open and suddenly three more vampires joined them. Their expressions were not quite as pleasant. Their eyes darted back and forth over the group behind Jasper. They even took the time to examine me, like I was an actual threat. Or maybe they were just hungry after their travels. Maybe they thought Jasper had been kind enough to provide a snack.

The cold hand on my back squeezed. I was so used to the sensation I didn't even jump.

Jasper stepped forward. "Aro, what a pleasant surprise."

Oh, this was all kinds of bad. The leader came out? All the way to another continent? Fantastic.

The man in the business suit inclined his head slightly. His eyes roamed the gathering behind Jasper. "Yes, this is a most pleasant surprise indeed. I did not expect such a large welcoming party."

Jasper nodded. "And had you arrived an hour earlier or half an hour later you would not have encountered such. The Cullen coven was in the area and stopped in for a visit. They were just leaving as you arrived."

Aro's lips pulled into a tight smile, a smile which was not reflected in his ruby eyes. I clenched my teeth and tried my damndest to keep my thoughts blank. This creature was not to be trifled with.

"Fortuitous indeed," Aro murmured. He turned to Carlisle. "You have saved us a day's travel, Dear Friend. Your house was to be our next stop."

Carlisle stepped forward, offering a hand and a warm smile. What the hell was that crazy man doing? Aro would be able to read everything that had happened as soon as they touched hands!

But he did it anyway, never wavering from that welcoming smile. "It has been too long, Aro."

"At least two hundred years, am I right?"

Carlisle inclined his head as he slipped his hand away.

Aro turned his eyes to the rest of Carlisle's family. As soon as his gaze landed on Edward they lit up. "Ah! Dear Stephenie has shown me so much about your new family. They appear as delightful in person as they do in her memories."

He held a hand out behind himself. One of the two female vampires behind him stepped forward. She was of average height, and build, light brown hair. She was gorgeous of course, but her expression was taking away from that beauty. Her whole face was twisted in bitterness as she met Edward's eyes.

He gasped. "It _is_ you. Stephenie."

Oh my damn. That could not be the Stephenie who wrote the books. She was too young. She was eighteen if she was a day. But moreover, how the hell could she have written them? She was too…vampirey.

Her eyes cut to me. "I can still type."

Okay. Looking at the dust again. Damn, Texas had a lot of dust.

My thoughts couldn't be distracted by the _fascinating_ Texas dust though. _So, if this is the Stephenie who actually wrote the books, then who's the human going around saying she did? And why did the Volturi allow it in the first place, if she was with them this whole time?_ If Edward had dated her ten years ago, well, I didn't know a lot about publishing, but it didn't seem like the books had been out that long. Had they? So, she had probably been turned and already there in Italy when she wrote them. It made no sense why Aro would allow that.

"Hiding in plain sight, My Dear." His voice called out.

I glanced up quickly to see him looking straight at me. My heart thudded in my chest. Even Jasper's gaze didn't scare me as much as this guy.

He smiled, apparently pleased by my reaction. "The books are perfect. They are wildly popular, with just enough misleading information. Anyone who truly believes them doesn't have the correct information to work with to ever find us. But no human in their right mind would believe them anyway. Vampires? Werewolves?"

A chill raced up my spine as he chuckled. Right. I thought I was hallucinating for how long after waking up to the Cullen's? Before the books, people might have looked askance at a vampire they came across, wondering at the differences they sensed. After the books? A person might have a brief moment of curiosity, but then they would shake their head at the tricks their mind was playing on them. As if they would run into a real life vampire like the ones in the books and movies? Ridiculous. Insanity.

Aro stopped laughing, turning to face Edward. "We do need to do something about your little breech of conduct though."

Edward straightened, holding out his hand. "I never revealed anything about our true nature to Stephenie."

All pleasantness drained from Aro's face. "Ah, but she still discovered the truth. You placed us all in a compromising position, because you wanted to go on a few dates. You wanted to be a real boy."

And just like that, I couldn't get the image of Edward as Pinocchio out of my head. I also couldn't wipe the resulting stupid grin off my face, so I settled for keeping my head down. Peter's grip on my back tightened to an almost painful extent.

Edward reached his hand out slightly further. "Please, Sir. As soon as she appeared the least bit suspicious, I cut all ties. We moved away. I never spoke to her again."

Aro took his hand. The yard was silent as he read Edward's memories. My face had finally obeyed my command to stop being juvenile, so I could safely look up again. Stephenie was still glaring daggers at Edward. So, apparently she hadn't lost any of her spurned love memories with the change. Her hard glare shifted to me for a second. Okay, moving on. Aro's bodyguard was stuck to him like glue. She was the little one who had let him out of the car. There wasn't anything physically intimidating about her, but she was a bodyguard so she had to be kick-ass. The other two vampires by the car were bored.

The male towered above everyone. He and Emmett were busy sizing each other up. I didn't want to be near them if it came to a fight. He looked like he would make short work of Emmett. As much as I liked the big teddy bear, this guy was clearly a fighter. His eyes broke away from Emmett to rest on me. His lips twitched slightly, and then he winked.

Peter stiffened beside me. The fighter's eyebrow cocked up in surprise.

The female was picking at her nails. She was tiny. Smaller even than Alice. She must have sensed my gaze on her because suddenly her red eyes were locked on me. And then I was engulfed in flame. I heard myself screaming as I fell to the ground.

Then just as swiftly as it started, it stopped. Gasping, I looked up toward her, but all I saw was the back of Peter's legs.

"What the hell, Jane!" He yelled.

"Tell your little pet to stop staring at me," she replied off-handedly.

I pulled myself shakily to my feet. I had to run my hands up and down my arms, to reassure myself that my skin wasn't really blistering and peeling. I could see that it was untouched, that I wasn't burned. But I could still feel the memory of the pain. It had been so real.

I had sure learned my damn lesson. I wasn't looking up from the dust till these assholes went home. Boring it may be, but it sure as hell didn't burn me.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**Disclaimer: If it was mine my editor woulda been up my ass a long time ago about my lack of writing anything at all lately…**

I stared at the dry Texas dirt as hard as I could. I refused to raise my eyes again. If I did, I'd only see something else that would make me think another inappropriate thought. My luck was wearing thin. How many more chances would I receive? I couldn't risk pissing off another of these vamps.

"Yes, yes, you're as innocent as a newborn babe," Aro stated wryly. "But the fact remains, you are responsible for her current state. Your presence alone was enough to set her down the path of discovery. It was your responsibility to ensure you left no unfinished business behind. You failed. Now you must pay recompense."

My breath stuttered to a halt. I didn't particularly like Edward, but that didn't mean I wished him harm. What did Aro intend to do to him? I couldn't imagine any punishment the heartless creature handed out would be very pleasant. He seemed the type to be cruel for the pleasure of it.

I could practically hear Peter telling me to mind my own business.

Clenching my fists gave me just enough control to keep my eyes on the ground. My curiosity was screaming at me to look up, to read the look on Aro's face, the reaction on Edward's. I couldn't do that though. I had to stay out of it. I had no place in their discussion. No place in this world at all. Peter shouldn't have brought me into it. He should have left me in my car on the side of the road.

He had condemned me.

Aro was considering Edward's punishment for not cleaning up the mess he left behind. The mess being the fact that he associated closely with a human and then didn't kill her. Peter had done so much worse. Aro would not be leaving as long as I was alive.

"Edward could not have foreseen the outcome of his innocent interactions with the girl," Carlisle interjected, his tone holding a slightly desperate note.

"Regardless, he is old enough to know the consequences of associating with a human." My heart sped up. He was about to announce Edward's punishment. Whatever Aro said next might as well be directed to Peter and me. "Which brings us full circle. Stephenie is in need of a mentor. Someone to guide her in our ways. Edward and Alice will join the Volturi for no less than one hundred years. They will nurture Stephenie, guide her, discipline her."

"Alice?" Carlisle asked stiffly.

"She is a psychic. She is just as responsible for Stephenie's turning as Edward. She should have seen the inevitable outcome the moment he decided to ask her on that first date."

"And their diet? I cannot condone your request to foster my children unless you will make allowances for their dietary needs."

Tension rocked through my body. My eyes started to shift toward Jasper, as the source of the sensation. But I controlled myself in time, directing my gaze down to the earth once more.

"I apologize for not communicating clearly, Carlisle. I am not requesting anything. They will accompany me or they will die."

I swallowed compulsively as all moisture suddenly left my mouth and throat.

I was so dead.

"My hands are tied. These laws are in place to protect us all. I cannot be lenient with your family and expect to retain the respect my position demands. I am not a tyrant though. I would never force another to feed against their desires."

Staring at the ground as I was, I couldn't help but be hyper aware of my body. With my visual senses bored to death, the others naturally began to take over. So I noticed immediately when Peter's grip on my lower side began to tighten. I figured it would be brief, like the other times. But he didn't let up. Soon he was tugging against me with enough force to knock me off my equilibrium. I stumbled a bit as he pulled me closer to him. I forgot my vow to keep my eyes down as he jerked me all the way into his side.

One glance at his face was enough to alert me to the fact that my time had come. Slowly, I turned my head to find that every vampire in the yard was looking at us.

Aro sent me a humorless smile. "And now we must decide what to do with this little pet of yours."

Peter growled. "She's not a damn pet."

Aro's eyebrow bumped up slightly. "No? Have you taken to cuddling your meals then? That's a bit...heartless…don't you think?"

I just loved how everyone assumed I was the damn refreshment for the evening.

"For the last time, Tommy is not gonna be anyone's dinner and no one here is gonna be laying a finger on her." Peter bit out warningly.

Jasper's head whipped around. "Watch yourself, Peter."

I narrowed my eyes. What exactly did Jasper have a problem with? The fact that Peter was standing up to Aro at all, or the words themselves?

Aro eyed Peter speculatively for a long moment before extending his hand toward us.

Peter considered the outstretched hand for a long, tense moment before releasing me. He ordered me to stay where I was before striding briskly forward. As if I had any interest in following him any closer to the vampires who clearly wanted to make me disappear. They were my judge, jury, and if they had their way, executioners. And since they all had red eyes, I was fairly certain the method they would choose to carry out that sentence.

A wave of sadness rolled through me. I would never see my family again. My friends. My dog. It had been a possibility earlier. One that I had only thought I believed would come to pass. But standing there, staring into the faces of the red-eyed monsters, I realized that I had always kind of expected to get out of it somehow. Like I was going to wake up in the hospital room with a concussion. But this was real. I was going to die. Vampires were really going to kill me. They were going to suck out all my blood and then dispose of my body, hide the evidence. My blood would contribute to those red eyes.

Nausea twisted my stomach but I managed to keep the contents in. Breathing deeply I held myself together. The least I could do was die with a little dignity. Only Jasper had to know that I was falling apart. Well shit, they could all read my mind, at least the red-eyed ones. So they all knew.

Well, fuck them all.

"Interesting," Aro proclaimed with a chuckle.

Peter and Aro both turned to look at me.

What? Had I spilled the ketchup from my fries on my shirt?

"Does she know?" Aro asked, his eyes boring into mine.

Peter shook his head silently.

Aro chuckled again; it was the coldest laugh I had ever heard.

A chill raced down my spine. What the hell was he laughing about? What didn't I know? Was this the same thing I didn't know from our conversation on the plane?

My temper flared. Jasper turned to me with a curious expression. I ignored him. I was so tired of these creatures talking about me, right in front of me, as if I was too infantile to understand what they were talking about. They continually discussed me and my future but refused to clue me in to their little secrets. About me! It was really starting to piss me off. This was my damn future they were talking about.

My mind raced as I took one step toward Aro. If they were really going to kill me, then they wouldn't have these elaborate secretive plans for me, would they? So…

"Where the fuck do you all get off talking about me like I'm not even here?"

All heads swiveled to look at me. Peter wore an expression of horror as his gaze met mine. Aro merely eyed me coldly.

"This matter does not pertain to you. This is a matter of vampire laws and whether they have been broken."

"Like hell it doesn't pertain to me!" I was outraged. They were discussing my life. How could it not pertain to me? "Listen here, Gramps, maybe in your day the women were expected to sit down, shut up and do as they were told. But now days we're equal. I'm not going to stand here and let you all decide my future without even telling me what the hell you're talking about!"

Jasper was at my side, gripping my arm before I had finished declaring my stand. My heart thudded loudly in my ears. He was emanating menace.

"Shut. Up."

I glanced toward Peter to see his eyes pleading with me to obey the Major. Aro was regarding me with cold anger. I hadn't made any friends with my little temper tantrum. What exactly had I expected to accomplish with that charming display? They already considered themselves to be more evolved than humans, that much was obvious by the way they looked down on me. We were part of their damn food chain for crying out loud. Of course they thought they were better than humans. And now they knew they were at the very least more mature than me, if not the rest of the human race.

Aro turned back to Peter, all trace of humor gone from his face and voice. "She is not what I would have expected you to bring home."

Well guess what, bud, you're not exactly what I expected either. The movie definitely improved on you.

His eyes sought me out once more. "She is insolent and she has issues with authority. From the appearance of her clothing and hair she is undisciplined and undoubtedly will break our laws at every chance she gets."

Ignoring Jasper's tightening grip on my arm, I sneered at him. Then a wave of calm hit me. It was so strong I nearly melted. Only Jasper's hold on my arm kept me on my feet as my knees grew weak with the overpowering sense of relaxation.

Asshole.

But I couldn't even retain a proper temper with the calm vibes bombarding me. I wanted to be upset, I knew logically I should be, but I just couldn't do anything but calm down. His gift was too strong.

Aro turned back to Peter. "She is a liability."

"I disagree. She'll be loyal. She'll obey."

And I thought Peter said I wasn't a pet.

"We'll train her properly." Jasper added.

What? Like obedience training for dogs?

Then things started to click into place. The cryptic remarks they all made about me, the way Peter and his little coven acted toward me. My stomach began to sink, I had an unpleasant suspicion that I knew exactly what was going on.

No way in hell.

Over my dead body.

Peter whipped around, his eyes round in panic.

His mouth opened.

The grip on my arm tightened as Jasper yanked me roughly to his side.

"NO!" Peter yelled.

But I knew it was too late.

Because I could barely register his voice over the pain spreading from my neck.

Jasper had attacked me.

**AN: So...I've got two faithful readers left (or at least two who let me know they're still reading). And one of you was kind enough to give me a little nudge and remind me that this story was still hanging out there. Thanks pelangism (yeah, I'm drawing a complete blank on your real name ATM so I'm going with the Twitter handle, sorry). :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

**Disclaimer: Still not mine**

* * *

The pain was hard to get a grasp on. I couldn't tell if it was hot or cold, just that it was at one extreme or the other. And even though my eyes were open, I couldn't see anything. It was as if the sensation of the venom was overpowering all of my other senses.

"Get your fucking hands off of her, you Bastard!" Peter yelled.

So, I could still hear.

Not that it mattered when I was burning from the inside out.

What did it matter that I could hear the scuffling of a fight beside me? When a gal was in the middle of bleeding to death from a gaping hole in her neck, she didn't really care about the fistfight next to her. Really, don't mind me guys, I'll just stand here and quietly bleed out while you two beat the snot out of each other.

Why the hell was I still standing? Jasper wasn't holding me up any longer. Peter wasn't either. I was free to faint, which I so desperately wanted to do. But the pain wouldn't release me. It held the blackness at bay, keeping it from rolling over my mind. I was stuck fully conscious of every millisecond of agony as my legs collapsed underneath me. At least I didn't feel the impact with the ground as I came to rest.

The grunts and cracks of fists meeting hard-as-granite skin suddenly halted.

"You weren't supposed to be the one." Peter's tone was resentful.

"Had to be done," Jasper ground out. "If I didn't act one of the guard would have. She was losing her temper. If she's that mouthy calm, she was going to say something unforgivable while angry."

"Still should have been me." Peter's voice came from just beside my ear.

Oddly, I still couldn't see him though. It was as if a sheet of white gauze had been placed over my eyes.

The fire was spreading further through my body though, and it was becoming harder to follow their conversation.

Jasper snorted. I wanted to slap him for that. I was lying on the ground, dying, and he was laughing. Asshole. "And shove Aro out of the way? He would have loved that…"

Suddenly the pain exploded in my body. It seemed to be hopping along my limbs, the venom nipping at my wrists then my ankles and thighs in quick succession before finishing the circuit on the other side of my neck.

* * *

The wave of pain built in strength to an all-encompassing level, wiping out everything else. Until finally it was just me and the pain. There was no time. I alternated between drowning in the pain and floating in it. Neither was bearable. It ate at every molecule of my being. It consumed every part of me.

And then…there was suddenly no pain.

I lay there, suspicious of this development. The pain was all I had known for an eternity. How could it have possibly just ended? Just like that? With no warning?

And when had my eyes closed? I cracked them open, intending to scope out my surroundings. But with one glance at the array of colors dancing in the sunlight streaming through the window, I jack-knifed to a seated position, my eyes open wide. I had never known there were so many different colors on the spectrum. And the dust motes. They danced so captivatingly in the light.

"Pretty, isn't it?"

A growl filled the room as I spun to crouch on the bed with my back to the wall. The growl confused me for a moment, since the creature facing me was smiling. Then I realized that it had come from me.

"Who are you?"

The edges of his smile faltered but held.

Before he could answer the question, I realized that I had a more important one to ask. "And who am I?"

He sighed and settled back into the chair he was seated in. "Your name is Thomas."

Odd, I didn't feel male. My gut instincts screamed the opposite. I glanced down at myself, doing a quick check. Huh. I was right. So this stranger had to be wrong.

I looked up to find him smiling at me. "People call you Tommy for short. I like it. Seems to fit you. I'm Peter."

"Thomas is a boy's name. I'm not a boy."

My voice startled me. It was wrong. Too musical. It wasn't my voice.

But how did I know that? I couldn't know whether my voice was wrong if I didn't know who I was.

"It'll come back to you. Or not," he explained with a shrug.

I narrowed my eyes at him. He held himself in the chair with careful ease. He wanted to give the appearance of relaxation, but we both knew that he could leap out of that small wooden chair, cover the bedroom and be on me in the blink of an eye if he wanted. His arms, neck and even parts of his face were covered in scars. No matter how hard I tried to ignore them, my eyes continued to drift in their direction. He was a fighter. He was deadly.

He was a threat to my continued existence.

The thought triggered the ghost of a memory.

He had been there. He was there when I died. When I became whatever I was now. I held my arm up to the light, turning it back and forth to watch the refraction of light shooting off my skin.

Knowledge rushed through me. I was a vampire. I was an unnatural monster. And it was all his fault.

"Now, Darlin', don't be like that," he chided quietly.

I shot a glare at him, baring my teeth. I wanted to rip his throat out.

That thought triggered another image. A beautiful cascade of deep red, pouring from the neck of some faceless prey. I was thirsty. My throat burned.

The vampire across the room stood slowly, holding his hands in a non-threatening manner as me moved. "Char is bringing home some take-out for you. She'll be back any minute. We'll want you to be outside when they get here. The Major won't want you tearing through his house in your mad dash toward your first meal."

I watched him for a moment, trying to judge the honesty of his words, his expression. But the burning in my throat was too distracting. He was offering food. I would follow him until he proved untrustworthy. Then I would tear his throat out.

He sighed again. "I ain't gonna hurt you, Darlin. I don't want to hurt you."

Of course he would say that.

"Just follow me. Jasper's in the living room. Don't attack him. He's a scary lookin' Bastard. All covered in battle-scars. But he's the head of our coven. You can't challenge him."

He may be the head of Peter's coven, but he sure as hell wasn't anything to me.

"He's stronger than you, Tommy. Don't test him."

Peter's voice held an interesting little note of desperation to it. I almost wanted to test this Jasper just to mess with Peter.

"Don't even think about it," Peter growled.

I felt an answering growl rising in my chest.

A chuckle interrupted the moment though. I twirled around, fear and an instinct to protect myself shooting through me as I realized that another creature had snuck up behind us. He was leaning a couple of doorways down the hall corridor, a smirk plastered across his face.

"Trouble in paradise already, Peter? Not having the honeymoon you envisioned?"

That voice. That smirk. I knew this guy. He was…he was the one responsible for me turning into a vampire. Not Peter. Rage flared up, accompanied by pressure at my temples.

Suddenly the smirking asshole was on his knees, holding his head and groaning in pain. I smiled, knowing intuitively that I was doing that to him. And that was only right. He had killed me. He _should_ be in pain.

A firm hand grabbed my elbow and yanked me around. Peter was glaring at me. "What the hell are you doing to him?"

Before I could answer a wave of desolation swept over me like a tidal wave. It was my turn to hit my knees. I gripped my head, lowering it until I was in a fetal position. If I could have cried I would have been sobbing. I was so alone. I needed to find a way to end it all. To commit suicide. Where was a stake when a vampire girl needed one? Why did sunlight have to turn me into a dicso ball? I could use the pile of ash myth at a time like this.

"Cut that shit out, Jasper! Don't you think you've done enough!" Peter yelled.

"She's another damn Jane! What the hell have you done, Peter? You just had to go and mate with a fucking Jane?"

Jasper had lost his focus. The suicidal tsunami was washing away, leaving anger in its wake. I listened to his words with confusion. Until the mate part. Then I jumped to my feet.

"Hold on a second. What's this about mate? I am no one's mate. Certainly not his."

Peter placed a hand over his still heart. "That hurts, Babe. It really does."

I glared at him. "We don't even know each other. You can't think we're mates. I don't even know what the hell a mate is, but I'm sure I'm not yours."

"I don't _think_ you're my mate. I _know_ you are." He tapped his head. "My gift. Foreknowledge. Yours is the ability to inflict pain just by lookin' at someone." He shot a grin at Jasper. "Told you her gift would be fuck-awesome."

The grin was full of pride. Like he'd taught me to do that.

"Well I'm not about to hop into a relationship with you just because you say so."

Peter shrugged. "I can wait."

"You'll be waiting forever."

He grinned. "Good thing we're immortal."

I glared at him, ignoring the quiet laughter from behind us. "I won't give in. You'll tire of the wait eventually and leave me. You'll have a very boring eternity just watching me, waiting for me to give in."

He shrugged. "Not like we'll be doing nothing. You think you know everything there is to know about being a vampire already? Can you read minds? Emotions? See the future? No? Have any idea how to hunt for yourself? How to blend into humanity enough to live a semi-normal life?"

I clamped my mouth shut. We both knew I had no answer for him, and we both knew I was unwilling to admit that.

His lips twitched into that annoying smirk once again.

I growled at him and gave him a shove. "I don't like you."

"You'll learn to love me."

"No I won't."

"Yeah, you will. Now come on, your dinner is almost here. I can hear him screamin' for mercy."

Once he mentioned it, my ears caught the sound of screams, far off but moving closer. The burning in my throat roared to life, drowning out all other thought.

"Come on, Sugar. Let me show you how it's done. And then we can discuss the rest of our lives."

Ha. I'd let him show me how to hunt. And maybe how to do a few of those other things. But no way in hell was I going to stick around long enough to get duped into any mating nonsense.

He sent me a look over his shoulder. "I think I'll save shielding thoughts as one of our last lessons."

I stomped my foot. Asshole. But…that _was _a cute grin.

And then I could hear a heartbeat and smell the blood coursing through the body. Heaven. Heaven was just out that door and a few hundred feet away. I pushed at Peter's back, trying to get him out of my way. He was between me and my prey. He was a threat to my prey. It might be easier to take him out before we cleared the hallway. Less room for him to defend himself.

He whipped around, holding his arms out in front of himself. "Now Darlin', how am I gonna teach you how to hunt if you kill me first?"

Damn.

I trailed obediently after Peter as he led me toward my first hunt, Jasper's laugh grating on my last nerve.

* * *

"I refuse that label." I crossed my arms, tilting my chin defiantly.

Peter pulled me into his body, chuckling deeply. "Oh? And what would you call us then? If mates is such a foul term?"

I frowned at him. I didn't appreciate his mirth at all. I was serious and he was laughing at me. After a couple decades together he should know better.

"If you don't wipe that stupid-ass grin off your face I'll be calling us History."

Peter laughed, tightening his hold on me. "I love that mouth. So sweet."

"How about my foot up your ass? Would you love that too?"

He cocked an eyebrow, that damn smirk still plastered to his face. "Kinky."

I blew out an unnecessary burst of air. Then I felt my lips beginning to twist. In another second I was grinning. Then I was laughing. I couldn't help it. I could never maintain a proper temper when Peter was giving me that mischievous smirk.

He darted in, pressing a quick kiss to my lips before pulling back. "So, if I'm not your mate, does that mean I can go out and find myself a girlfriend?"

A growl ripped from my throat, completely involuntarily. "Only if you want to watch me tear her to pieces."

Okay, I hadn't meant to say anything.

"What's the problem, Darlin'? If we're not mates then there shouldn't be any problem with us going our own ways at this point. You're trained. There's no reason to stick together any longer."

"You're mine," I growled.

"Tsk, tsk. That's awfully close to the 'm' word, Sugar," he said, a smile in his voice.

"Oh, bite me."

"Already have."

I threw up my hands. "Fine. Fine, we're mates. Are you happy now? Can we just leave already? Jasper and Charlotte are waiting for us."

"Sure thing, Sweet-cheeks. Anytime you're ready."

* * *

**AN: So, this is the end. Really, it's the beginning, at least it's where the idea for this story started. I saw the biting scene first. Then flashes of the end scene. Then the driving scene from the first chapter. That's the genesis of the story. So then I was stuck trying to figure out the crème filling. Sorry it took so long. Real life insisted on butting in. **


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